The month of April brings more good news for Lincoln’s economic development efforts. A leading national site selection publication, Business Facilities, named the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development as the 2013 recipient of its Excellence Award (pop. 200,000 – 500,000).
Each year, the national publication selects the organizations that have established and consistently executed the best practices in the economic development industry, bringing measurable success in the targeted economic development locations they represent. According to the publication, the awards are earned by the overall performance of an economic development organization on behalf of the location they represent.
We were the only recipient in our population category.
Needless to say, we are thrilled to receive such a prestigious award from the nation’s leading site selection organization. Moreover, this award is hardly ours to claim alone. The success of Lincoln as a whole to welcome economic development projects is a major factor in our success. We do a lot here in Lincoln with far fewer resources when compared to other cities our size and other communities we routinely compete with for projects. Again, it’s a tribute to our partner organizations and our volunteer leaders.
It also doesn’t hurt that we get to work in and represent the greatest city in the nation.
This is the second significant program award we’ve received in the past 12 months. The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) recognized us with a Gold Medal for our business retention and expansion program. We also won an award from IEDC for our marketing materials used to promote Lincoln nationally and globally.
Third-party validation goes a long way toward maintaining the trust and confidence of Lincoln’s citizens and business leaders. I appreciate your continued investment in both the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. Together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish for Lincoln.
I also want to say “Thank you” to all of the men and women who ran in the local elections last month. Public service is often a thankless job and politics in general have become more cynical. Not just in the nation’s capital, but here at home as well. In my view, all those who put their name on the ballot are winners because they said – “I want to make a difference in Lincoln.”
We need all of our citizens engaged and educated about local, state and national issues and casting a ballot. I have faith in the people of Lincoln and our elected leaders to come together now and make Lincoln a better place to live, work, and play.
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 Paul 436-2350.