It’s been an incredible first quarter for the City of Lincoln and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.
In February, the Chamber hosted more than 700 members for our Annual Lunch and keynote speaker Daymond John.  His story of how he built the FUBU clothing empire was inspiring and his “selfie” with our audience generated thousands of “shares” on social media.  I want to thank our 2015 Board Chair Angie Muhleisen and Union Bank for their help in producing the astounding promotional video for Lincoln that we debuted at the lunch.  The video has been shared on YouTube and other social media platforms throughout the country and we’ve received more positive feedback than we could have imagined.  Visit the Chamber’s website at www.lcoc.com and check it out when you get a chance.

Boosted by several Top 10 Rankings, Lincoln’s national presence and notoriety has also grown stronger over the first quarter of the year.  Mayor Chris Beutler and several business leaders were featured in a nationwide National Public Radio segment by a reporter out of Chicago.  The reporter said he was drawn to Lincoln’s story because of our prosperous economy during the recession.  As the radio segment demonstrated and as you and I see every day, Lincoln is experiencing an unmatched era of growth.  Public and private investments in new capital projects have spurred a dramatic change to the skyline of downtown Lincoln and our unemployment rate remains among the lowest in the country.

It is not just our downtown that is thriving.  Several new industrial buildings are going up in the Lincoln Airport Industrial Air Park, new schools and new residential developments are coming to both south and north Lincoln.

With growth and momentum on Lincoln’s side, The Lincoln Chamber and the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development have embarked on a quest to unify public and private goals into a single vision by asking: “What’s next for Lincoln?”

Back in 2002, we hired Angelou Economics to study our community.  We asked them what we could do ensure we are competitive in the global marketplace by the year 2015.  Their study and consulting work laid the groundwork for many of the ideas that have brought Lincoln to the prosperity of today.

Now, we’ve asked them back to help Lincoln develop a community vision plan.

The Angelou team made their first visit the last week in January and their second in late March.  The consulting team is conducting interviews, surveys, and focus groups to hear what Lincoln residents think should be next on the list. They also conducted an on-line survey that received over 2,400 responses.  The final report will be the feature of our Annual Economic Development Breakfast in June.

Stay tuned to see what comes from the study, the last time we undertook this process the results were amazing.  I can’t wait to see where this new adventure takes us.

The Chamber’s mission is to improve the lives of Lincoln residents by providing increased economic opportunity and can only be accomplished together.  Networking opportunities, business advocacy, and creating economic viability are critical to our success.  We encourage you to become a member and help us achieve these goals for Lincoln.  For more information, please contact our Membership Director, Kristin Holmes, kholmes@lcoc.com.

 

by Wendy Birdsall, President, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce

402-436-2350| www.lcoc.com