New leaders renew hopes in new year
I had a chance Sunday to attend the swearing-in ceremonies of Mayor Dave Wood in Mishawaka and Mayor Pete Buttigieg in South Bend. Standing room only crowds greeted both mayors while residents, business leaders, city staffers and elected officials looked on with optimism as the mayors and city councils took their oaths of office.
High expectations await our mayors. Both seemed ready to answer those expectations and chart a course that will position their communities for future success and prosperity. That has residents in both communities excited about the future and encouraged as both roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Our mayors heard strong messages from their constituents during the campaigns related to economic development and the need for new capital investment and job opportunities here in our community. A sluggish economy and slow job growth have people concerned about our future. Our mayors heard that message, and both have identified economic growth as an item that will be at the top of their agendas.
Today, there are more than 30,000 incorporated towns and cities in the United States. Add to that the number of cities and towns around the world and we get a sense of who our competition is for those new jobs and investment. Most of those communities also have strong desires for growth, capital investment and new job opportunities. It is essential that we position our local communities to be competitive with those other communities.
So what can we expect of our new leaders as it relates to economic development? Our expectations must be realistic and within reach. Though both mayors are very knowledgeable and intelligent, neither can be called upon to be “Superman.”
There is no magic formula and no catalog where you can order a new industrial facility, a new corporate headquarters or a handful of entrepreneurs. Change won’t happen overnight, but rather over a longer period of time. Hard work, a clear vision, and a dedicated team will help us get off to a good start.
Gov. Mitch Daniels and others often remind us that it is not government that creates jobs, but it is government that creates the conditions that make those jobs more or less likely to occur. Site selectors remind us that that the cost of doing business and the ease of doing business in a community are often key factors in a company’s decision-making process. Our mayors will have an opportunity to influence each of these factors.
We will rely on our mayors to be our chief salespeople for our communities. That will include responsibilities typically undertaken by a salesperson, such as ensuring customer satisfaction and managing the quality of product and service delivery.
Our mayors both embrace this role, but recognize that they also need a talented sales team under them, and that includes each and every one of us. Imagine a sales force of 260,000 people in our community instead of two — that could be powerful.
Our mayors gave us a call to action in their remarks, asking that we each embrace the important role we all play, take personal responsibility, volunteer where we can, work together for the best interest of our collective community. Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work?
We are not always going to agree with our mayor, and some of the decisions our mayor or city makes. However, we must remember that it is OK to disagree, but we must not allow our disagreements to harden into anger or to hold our community back, especially at this critical time.
I think Mayor Buttigieg summed it up best when he said, “The role of leadership is to hold fast to those things we want to sustain and preserve, yet recognize what must change and point the way forward.” I think our communities are fortunate to have two very competent and capable leaders in Mayor Wood and Mayor Buttigieg, and we look forward to joining them as they point the way forward.
Jeff Rea is president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
Residents Say Area Has Good Resume
I’ve been receiving some wonderful feedback over the past few weeks about what our area’s “story” should be and what kind of things we should include on our “résumé.”
People put a lot of thought into it, took their assignment very seriously and had some very compelling reasons for why they, their family or their business located here.
I would classify most of the comments as relatively positive. Many acknowledged we have our challenges, but pointed out that most places have problems. It’s how you address those challenges that really matters most.
Résumés typically contain an educational component, and many of you touted the wonderful higher education opportunities in our community — everything from the University of Notre Dame, to Indiana University South Bend, Bethel College, Saint Mary’s, Holy Cross, Brown Mackie, Ivy Tech, ITT Tech, Indiana Tech, Trine and more.
No matter your interest or skill level, there is something here for you. Many wondered if other communities were able to offer such a variety of opportunities. Some of you touted our K-12 education system, the magnet schools and other opportunities.
A good résumé typically follows with work experience. Many of you thought we stacked up well in that regard. We have a history of making things in our area, just about anything you can imagine. I heard stories going all the way back to the fur traders on the river to the history of manufacturing and industry.
Oftentimes applicants will add other factors on résumés. Many of you pointed out our geography, cost of living, low utility costs, transportation connections, airport, quality neighborhoods, skilled work force and cultural opportunities.
Finally, résumés will often include accomplishments. Many of you touted things like South Bend’s All American City Award, and a number of other individual and group awards.
My space here doesn’t give me nearly enough room to share everything, but I’ll keep working on refining the thoughts that you have shared. They all will be helpful as we work to sell the area to visitors, prospective residents and businesses.
In the meantime, where we really need your help is in continuing to develop and tell the story. We’ve got to get excited about our story, we have to recognize many of the fine things we have to offer here in our region, and we have to remember that people are listening very closely to what we say and how we say it.
People have highlighted other communities across the country and the excitement going on in those
areas. Let’s plan to build upon what we have here and let’s get excited about the future.
Jeff Rea is president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
Help write area’s résumé
I’ve been in a number of conversations and meetings in recent weeks during which the question “What’s our story?” has been asked. It sparked some interesting dialogue and elicited some curious opinions. So what do you think? What is our community story?
Every community has a story to tell. What is the story we should be telling those considering a visit to our area or experiencing our area for the first time? Or how about a new company considering capital investment in our area or an existing company deciding whether this is the right place for them to grow?
What is the story you tell when people ask?
Is our story unique? Will others remember our story, or will they confuse us with Anytown, USA?
Our story is what distinguishes this area from others, and ultimately is what could draw people into our region. With no story, there is no differentiation; we are just another nice town, and we look and sound a lot like everyone else.
I went searching for other communities’ stories, just to see what was out there. They tend to sound similar. I saw things like “family friendly, business friendly, innovative, high-tech, progressive, hometown, a good place to do business, a great place to live, and a great place to call home.” All wonderful ways to describe a community, and I am sure in the minds of those residents they believe many of those qualities hold true. Many describe elements of our area.
I think the process of telling our story as a community can be a lot like the telling of your story as an individual when you are going through the job search process. Typically a lot of qualified applicants are seeking the same position. Like trying to differentiate our community from others, what differentiates you from the other candidates in the job search? Your résumé gives you a chance to do just that.
Earlier this month, I read a great article in Forbes Magazine titled “Final Cut: Words to Strike from Your Résumé.” In the article, the author attempts to advise the reader on how to eliminate the essentially meaningless phrases found in the average résumé and instead set yourself off as a better candidate. The idea is that then you don’t sound like everyone else, you sound unique.
The words to strike included career objective, experienced (or seasoned, well versed), team player (or customer focused, people person), dynamic (energetic, enthusiastic) and references available on request.
Though we want people to know we are family friendly, have a good quality of life and are innovative and progressive, our community résumé needs to include other items.
In a difficult job market or in a difficult economy, with many people competing for the same positions and many communities competing for the same new investment, it is going to take more than a list of desirable-sounding qualities to warrant an interview or to secure new capital investment.
So what do you tell people when they ask about your backyard, about the place you call home? Does a smile come to your face when you think about it, and is it hard to hide your pride for your hometown? Or does it elicit negative feelings? Do you have to think about it for a second?
Do you tell them about our cost of living, the quality of life, the number of amenities in our area, the strong infrastructure, the power grid, the interstate connections, the proximity to major cities, the many institutions of higher education, the transcontinental fiber, our air or rail access?
Do you share the excitement of improvements to the airport and U.S. 31, of the research and outreach efforts of the University of Notre Dame, of the new energy among community leaders, of our redevelopment opportunities in our urban core?
Or do your thoughts automatically move to our challenges, such as crime, job losses, winter weather, declining industries, out-migration, education and property taxes?
If someone were telling you the story that you are telling, would you be interested in moving here or relocating your business here?
I would be interested in your feedback. Help me understand what you think our story should be, then help us all tell that story. The future of our community depends on it. You can e-mail me your thoughts at jrea@sjchamber.org. Look forward to hearing from you.
Jeff Rea is president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
Indiana Ranks High in the Polls!
We often are excited about polls and what they tell us about our favorite sports teams. The Lady Irish’s number two ranking has us excited about the upcoming basketball season. We are encouraged to see the Irish football team again crack the top 25 heading into their big match-up with Stanford. We are optimistic that Tom Crean has things pointed in the right direction and we’ll see the Hoosiers again ranked amongst the nation’s elite.
While those polls are important, a number of other important polls are out that have nothing to do with our favorite sports teams. However, they may be more important than any others that we pay attention to this year. The State of Indiana again has received high marks on virtually every poll related to people doing business in our State. Indiana continues to score well on many national comparisons and continues to lead its neighbors across the Midwest.
Recently, Area Development Magazine, a national publication that focuses on site and facility planning, ranked Indiana 5th in the Nation in its “Top States to do Business Survey.” Site Selection Magazine, a national publication that focuses on corporate real estate strategy and area economic development ranked Indiana 6th in the Nation in its “Top Business Climate Survey.”
The Site Selection ranking is the fourth year in a row Indiana has garnered a top 10 mark. Site Selection used feedback from a survey of national real estate executives and a review of Indiana’s economic development record. Indiana is moving in the right direction, climbing two spots from eighth in 2010.
In a 2011 survey of five hundred Chief Executives from across the Country, Indiana ranks best in the Midwest and sixth nationally in the rankings of best and worst states for business. The US Chamber ranks Indiana best in the Midwest and fourth nationally in their survey of most enterprising states.
The Hoosier state also ranks best in the Midwest and tenth nationally amongst the best states for low taxes, according to the Tax Foundation. Indiana is one of only nine states with a top bond rating from all three major credit rating agencies.
According to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indiana’s tax and regulatory environments rank as fourth best in the nation for job creation and economic growth. The state was also ranked as top in the nation for rail and highway accessibility and was among the consultants’ second pick as a state leading in the economic recovery.
The good news is that in a difficult economy, Indiana appears high on the radar screen of companies looking to relocate, grow, or expand. The Hoosier State has earned this good reputation by offering a skilled workforce, sound transportation infrastructure, a good tax and regulatory environment, and a welcoming atmosphere for entrepreneurs seeking to make their visions a reality.
So what does all this mean to our local economy and job opportunities in our region? Not much if you are currently unemployed, or if your family and business are struggling to navigate the challenges of this difficult economy and slow recovery. It means a lot if you are trying to sell this area to a local business thinking about expanding or moving or to a business thinking about relocating here from somewhere else.
For Indiana and our area to achieve success, we need to focus on those things that can influence our success. Governor Daniels often talks about what it takes to steer Indiana and our region through these hard economic times, and the message is quite different than what is coming from Washington, D.C. “Government does not create jobs,” he has said, “it only creates the conditions that make jobs more or less likely.”
Our area has not kept pace with the success happening around the rest of the Hoosier State. I believe we all have an interest in changing that story, and it’s my hope we all can work together to create those conditions that make jobs more likely here instead of less likely.
I had a recent conversation with a site selector about why they chose where they did instead of in our region. They indicated the cost of doing business, the ease of doing business, and access to a skilled workforce were the three driving factors in locating where they did.
Those all seem to be conditions within our control, and will require all of us playing a part to change that thinking and again have site selectors think about our area a good place to do business. Our state receives high marks, let’s make sure our region does all we can to climb those polls so that we also receive those high marks.
By Jeff Rea, President & CEO of The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
ChamberPAC-endorsed Candidates Win Big on November 8 Election Day 82% Accuracy Rate Achieved
For the first time, ChamberPAC, the Political Action Committee of The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, endorsed candidates in municipal races with 14 of its 17 endorsed candidates being elected, an 82% winning percentage. In South Bend, six of the eight endorsed candidates were elected, and in Mishawaka, eight of the nine candidates were elected. All three of the Mishawaka Common Council At-Large candidates endorsed by ChamberPAC won election.
“Overall, we are pleased with the election results,” said Sheri Miller Story, director of public policy for The Chamber. “We believe that these results are a clear indication that our area communities are seeking to effect change, demanding that our elected officials lead with the ‘greater good in mind.’ We look forward to working collaboratively with all of the newly elected candidates to move Mishawaka and South Bend toward a more welcoming environment for business growth,” said Miller Story.
In making the endorsements, a Political Evaluation Committee (PEC) comprised of a bipartisan group of 13 business leaders with business interests in both South Bend and Mishawaka met to spearhead the endorsement process. The process consisted of key components, which paralleled that of a job interview: the application, first interview, second interview and endorsement/hiring. The first three steps of the process included the completion of a candidate questionnaire (job application), an interview with PEC members (first interview) followed by participation at a “meet and greet” for council candidates and a forum for mayoral candidates (second interview) hosted in each city. More than 600 hours were devoted to the evaluation process of the candidates.
The winners. A dot indicates that the candidate was endorsed by ChamberPAC.
South Bend:
•Mayor Pete Buttigieg
•At-Large Derek Dieter
•At-Large Gavin Ferlic
•At-Large Karen White
District 1 Tim Scott
•District 3 Valerie Schey
District 4 Fred Ferlic
•District 5 Dave Varner
Endorsements were not made in South Bend Districts2 and 6, and in Mishawaka District 5.
Mishawaka
•Mayor Dave Wood
•At-Large John Roggeman
•At-Large Matt Mammolenti
•At-Large Dan Bilancio
•District 1 Woody Emmons
•District 2 Mike Bellovich
District 3 John Reisdorf
•District 4 Marsha McClure
•District 6 Ron Banicki
Time to Cast That Ballot!
Election Day is upon us and in just a few hours the ballots will be tallied and we’ll know about our local leadership for the next few years. Important races in South Bend and Mishawaka are soon to be decided.
Months of door knocking, phone calls, campaign ads and commercials have tried to inform you of the good and the bad of each candidate. Many of you had a chance to meet the candidates personally, and others had opportunities to hear them in a debate or public forum.
The business community has taken an active interest in this election. Local elected officials play an important role in creating the conditions that impact local businesses and their decisions to locate or grow. Public policy decisions made by these elected officials related to zoning, incentives, and budget priorities will influence investment decisions by companies.
This spring, we embarked on a process to get to know each of the candidates. We invited all candidates for South Bend and Mishawaka Mayor and Council races to participate. We know it’s nearly impossible to get to know candidates from a television ad, radio commercial, or mail flyer. Our plan was to dive deeper, dig below the sound bites, and really get to know the candidates.
We knew that not all of our business leaders would have an opportunity to get to meet and get to know all of the candidates, so we decided we would do that and report back to them. We created a process like a job interview process, thinking these candidates were going to be “hired” by the citizens of our communities to fulfill an important leadership post.
We had a group of business leaders with business interests in each community participate in the interview process. In all, more than six hundred man-hours were spent pouring through candidate information, reviewing questionnaires, and interviewing and getting to know the candidates. In the end, we held public forums for the community to also meet and get to know the candidates.
In the end, we endorsed candidates that best matched the ideals, philosophies and goals of The Chamber. We know it is up to the voters to do the hiring on Election Day, however, we felt it was important to make a recommendation to the business community based on our findings collected from more than 600 hours of process. The candidates were evaluated on their views on issues impactful to business and community growth, their interaction with the committee and the public.
These endorsements represent candidates that share in The Chamber’s ‘big picture’ vision for economic progress. If elected, we believe that these candidates will be well positioned to provide leadership and will work collaboratively with business and community groups to move Mishawaka and South Bend toward a more welcoming environment for business growth.
The Chamber has endorsed the following candidates. In South Bend, Pete Buttigieg for Mayor; Derek Dieter, Gavin Ferlic and Karen White for At-Large City Council; Mike Stack for 1st District City Council; Valerie Schey for 3rd District City Council; Kyle Chamberlin for 4th District City Council; and Dave Varner for 5th District City Council. In the 2nd District, the Chamber did not endorse as Henry Davis is unopposed. Davis did participate in the process.
In Mishawaka, The Chamber endorsed Dave Wood for Mayor; John Roggeman, Matt Mammolenti, and Dan Bilancio for At-Large City Council; Woody Emmons for 1st District City Council; Mike Bellovich for 2nd District City Council; Ross Deal for 3rd District City Council; Marsha McClure for 4th District City Council, and Ron Banicki for 6th District City Council.
We are appreciative of all candidates seeking to represent their neighborhoods and communities. We know all have them have sacrificed significant time and energy over the past few months for the office they seek. We look forward to working with each of them as I believe we all share common goals, for our communities and our citizens to grow and prosper.
By Jeff Rea, President & CEO of The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
Recipe for economic development
A lot of conversations are taking place in the community these days about economic development and our ability to attract and retain jobs here in our region.
Political campaigns have the issue front and center, and few conversations happen in our community where somebody doesn’t bring it up. This made me consider whether we have the right recipe for economic development success here in our area.
Recipes are an important element to the preparation of many food items. Without knowledge about what to mix together and how much, we risk an uncertain end product that may or may not tempt our taste buds. I think our economic development efforts are similar.
Although I’m really more of an eater than a baker, I thought I would refer to a classic recipe, chocolate chip cookies. For those cookies to end up oh-so-savory, you need the right combination of flour, baking soda, salt, butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, chocolate chips and maybe some nuts.
Examining each of the ingredients individually, none of them gets me too excited, and I likely wouldn’t eat any of the elements on their own, except for maybe those chocolate chips. But put them together, and you have a tasty combination that is hard for most of us to resist.
When I think about our recipe for economic development success, I, too, think that individually each of the components leaves us wanting a little more, but together I hope we are building a formula that looks and tastes good to the outside world. Let’s think about the key ingredients to that recipe.
For our community to be successful, we need new businesses to start up. For that to happen, we need to have loan and capital funds available to those startups, mentoring and counseling programs available, and other business startup resources.
We need to attract new businesses to our area. Someone has to have the data and other information available to those seeking to better understand our area. Somebody has to brand and market the area; someone has to actively recruit.
We need to retain and grow our existing businesses. Someone needs to proactively monitor those businesses, intervene where necessary, and help break down barriers to growth. Someone also needs to be a connector to resources that could help those businesses expand and grow.
We need to brand and promote our community, provide visitors and prospective businesses with the information they need about our community. We all need to rally around who we want to be as a community and region.
We need the physical infrastructure, the transportation elements, utilities and quality-of-life amenities to support business attraction, retention and expansion. We also need other types of infrastructure such as a safe community, good schools, quality recreational opportunities, libraries and public transit.
We need positive relationships between business and government. We need processes efficiencies and affordable costs, quick answers and clear direction. We have to do more than just say we are business-friendly; we have to actually be business-friendly.
We need a plan we can all rally around; a plan for long-term success that is clear, manageable and easy to understand. We need a strong K-12 education system, opportunities for advanced training and retraining, adult education and systems that will prepare our citizens for the jobs of tomorrow.
We need to think and act regionally, and understand that together we are stronger as a region.
We are competing with regions from across the country and around the world for the jobs of tomorrow. Collectively, we have numerous resources we can leverage to better position ourselves to compete.
Attracting new business and capital investment is not easy, and it is a long-term proposition. I believe we are fortunate to have all of the right ingredients right here in our region. Some we need to improve upon, others we simply need to combine with other ingredients. While there is no secret recipe for success, the right combination will position us well for a future of prosperity.
Jeff Rea is president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County.
Is Business the Enemy?
I’ve watched with interest this past week as demonstrators around the United States have gathered to protest activities related to the economy, what’s happening on Wall Street, and the activities of businesses around the country. People have gathered daily in cities across the country including recently here in Indiana in South Bend and Indianapolis.
Attendance and message have varied widely, with people seeking an avenue to blow off some steam about their economic and political related frustrations. The issues are all over the spectrum, including global warming, gas prices, corporate greed, tuition hikes, the protection of unions and collective bargaining, capitalism, banks, greed, bailouts, foreclosures, taxes, foreign wars, income inequality, and the Federal Reserve just to name a few.
I am grateful that we live in a Country where we can gather and express ourselves and I applaud people’s efforts to be engaged and involved. My hope is that their attention turns to meaningful engagement and involvement and a spirit of working towards some common goals. Their strategy can’t be merely second guessing the strategies of others. I look forward to reading more about their suggestions for improving our economy.
Most disappointing to me to come out of these discussions is the picture that I think often times is painted of business and the men and women that operate those businesses. While we all could agree that we’ve seen some unscrupulous business people throughout time that have tried to take advantage of others, for the most part business leaders are just ordinary people trying to make a living and provide for their family.
Business leaders are often those people that live next door, that we sit next to in church on Sunday, that we pass when we are walking in the park, or that we are standing behind when we are waiting to check out at the grocery store. They also are the ones that we see leading the United Way campaigns, supporting the school programs, and making other contributions in our community to help those that are less fortunate. They really don’t look any different than you or me.
The difference sometimes is that these are men and women that have taken a significant risk to pursue a business idea or new service. Often times they have borrowed heavily from friends and family, mortgaged their and their family’s homes, and made personal guarantees to get their business off the ground. They enter understanding the reality that they could be successful and provide a better life for their family, or that they could lose it all.
The deck may be stacked against them. No one starts a business with the intention of failing, but the numbers suggest failure is more likely than success. Less than half of all businesses that start-up survives four years. Restaurants that start-up have only a twenty percent chance they will survive two years. In recent years, more businesses fail annually than start up. Business owners are left fighting these odds, trying to keep their head above water, and struggling to provide for their families and those in their employment.
I hope we are careful to not paint all businesses and business leaders with the same broad brush. Today, small businesses make up more than ninety eight percent of all employers and annually create sixty to eighty percent of the new jobs in our community. Those businesses are vital to our local economy and a key part of our efforts to revive a stagnant economy. Without people being willing to take risks, we wouldn’t have jobs.
My hope is that we are creating an environment that encourages entrepreneurs to take risks, and that we develop the tools necessary to help make them be successful. I’m also hoping that we come to understand and remember that businesses play an important part in our life every day and that working together, business and community leaders can help revive our local economy. Business isn’t the enemy, but instead an important partner to our revitalization efforts.
By Jeff Rea, President & CEO, The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
Election Season is Upon Us
Labor Day has traditionally marked the beginning of football season as high school, college and NFL football is back in action. Great expectation ensues as we all wonder how our favorite team will stack up against the competition after a long summer layoff. Labor Day also typically marks the beginning of election season, as candidates begin to make their final push for the November General Election. Anticipation follows as we wonder how our favorite candidate may fare and what that may mean for the future of our community.
Perhaps no election season has been more anticipated in recent years than what we’ll see this year over the next eight weeks. Key races exist in both South Bend and Mishawaka, with residents of both communities in a position to make critical decisions about the future leadership and direction of their city.
In South Bend, we’ll elect a new Mayor for the first time in 15 years, and at least four new City Council members. In all, contested races exist for seven South Bend council positions, the Mayor, and City Clerk. In Mishawaka, an important Mayor’s race as well as contested races for all nine council positions and City Clerk will have Princess City voters paying close attention. Voters will have their work cut out for them getting to know each of the candidates and understanding what each has to offer.
Candidates stand ready to go head-to head, to debate important issues, and to convince voters why they’re the best candidate. Get ready for those knocks on your doors, phone calls, and emails from the candidates and their volunteers; for the mailbox full of election material; for the yard signs and billboards; for the radio and television ads; and for the debate that will dominate the conversation in the barber shops, beauty salons and coffee houses. Are you ready for some….politics?
Regardless of your view of politics, our local elected officials play an important role in charting the course for the future of our communities. Decisions made at the local level have a significant impact on decisions by businesses to locate here, grow and expand. Local officials are instrumental in creating an environment that is welcoming and inviting, clear and logical, easy to navigate, and has costs that are competitive with other regions. That right environment is key and could ultimately lead to new capital investment and the creation of jobs.
The business community has decided to take a more active role in local elections this year. It is not because we want to be involved in politics, but because we know the leadership of our community is critical to the success of our region. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County has developed a process that is very business-like and similar to the way we would approach it if we were hiring a new employee. After all, that’s really what we are doing, hiring a CEO (Mayor) and Board of Directors (City Council) in both cities.
Our process began with the development of the job description. It followed with the “application,” a detailed questionnaire about many key community issues. All candidates were invited to “apply” by filling out the questionnaire. Those who “applied” were invited to interview with a group of business leaders, representing a diverse mix of businesses with interests in South Bend and Mishawaka. Candidates were invited to return for the “final interview” with the community at one of our candidate forums in the two cities.
After completion of that process, we will gather all the information that we have assembled and make a final decision on what candidates we believe are best suited to move this community forward and worthy of our endorsement. We’ll then make that information available to businesses across St. Joseph County and to the public.
Last week, we had an opportunity to host South Bend candidates. Tomorrow night (Wednesday, September 14) we will host Mishawaka Candidates at the Riverside Terrace in downtown Mishawaka at 6:30 p.m. We will begin with Democrat challenger Craig Fry and Republican Mayor Dave Wood participating in a Mayor Forum, and will follow with the opportunity for you to meet and ask your questions of the two Mayor Candidates and the City Council candidates.
We’ve focused throughout our process on diving deeper into the candidates than you usually get in the political sound bites. We know they all believe in strong neighborhoods, creating more jobs, spending tax dollars wisely, being good representatives of their constituents, but how they do those things us what we really wanted to get at. We believe our process has helped us do just that.
It has been an interesting process, with lots of meaningful discussion about how to advance this region and improve our communities. We think there are some great candidates out there, and we encourage you too to be informed and prepared to make an important decision like we have on November 8. The future of our community depends on it!
Jeff Rea, President & CEO, The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
Let’s not take tourism impact for granted
On Saturday, the Notre Dame football team will open its 2011 football season with a home game against the Bulls of South Florida. There is great anticipation this season about what the Irish may accomplish on the football field since it’s ranked better than any Notre Dame team in the past five years. There is even greater anticipation off the field regarding what a successful football season may mean to our local business community.
Annually our community has the opportunity to welcome thousands of visitors from around the world to the South Bend area for football weekends. Experts have suggested that an ND home football weekend has a $10 million impact on our local economy, as those that visit our community shop in our stores, eat in our restaurants and stay in our hotels. With six home games scheduled, our retailers have braced for an exciting time of year in their business.
Though football weekends are important, we can’t underestimate the impact visitors have on our local economy throughout the year. Locally the travel and tourism industry contributed more than $635.1 million to St. Joseph County’s economy in 2009. Direct expenditures by tourists accounted for $408.3 million of this total — a growth of 2.7 percent annually since 2006. Nationally, the industry accounts for $700 billion in revenues and 7.4 million American jobs.
I think it is important we not forget the impact visitors have on the economy when we are considering local job creation efforts. With a top tourist attraction, a geographic location with easy connectivity and a number of other local amenities, we are well-positioned as a community to continue to reap the benefits of visitors seeing what our community has to offer. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it best recently by labeling tourism a “a clean small business-centered sector” of the economy and rated putting the welcome mat out for tourists and travelers as one of five immediate steps necessary for job creation.
Of course it’s easy to focus on the impact of football and its justified position as a top draw for visitors to the area, but the South Bend area has much to offer. Downtown South Bend is home to two national attractions — the College Football Hall of Fame and the Studebaker National Museum. Copshaholm and the Center for History are also impressive facilities. The retail selections throughout the area make South Bend/Mishawaka a regional center for shopping. Our restaurant selections are vast and diverse. And of course, we are home to many colleges and universities, each offering opportunities for athletic and arts events, as well as endless educational opportunities. Throw in some wonderful recreation and golf offerings as well as a river flowing right through the heart of the area and you begin to see the concept of South Bend and Mishawaka as a destination.
It’s natural to take note of this essential industry during the first football week of the year. It’s also easy to take for granted the good fortune we enjoy being home to the Fighting Irish. In fact, though many come here on Saturdays in the fall to root the Irish on to victory, others come for the experience that is college football on the Notre Dame campus. Sports Illustrated has recently ranked that experience as the No. 4 college football game day experience. In addition, SI also ranked “play like a champion today” as the No. 3 best tradition in college football, and the alma mater the No. 9 best tradition in college football. In short, what we enjoy in our own backyard is literally a “bucket-list” experience for many visitors.
SI said it best when they said “You can feel it the minute you leave the Indiana Toll Road at Exit 77. You have entered the Domer Dimension, a realm of virtue, tradition and iconic architecture, from the Golden Dome to the Grotto to the World of Life mural – a 134-foot mosaic otherwise known as Touchdown Jesus, looming over the north end of Notre Dame Stadium. But the mystique of this place is created most of all by students and alumni, a classy (if occasionally smug) contingent that has little use for the verbal abuse heaped on visitors at other schools. Between walk-through and kickoff, opposing players hear it a hundred times: ‘Welcome to Notre Dame!’ “
Our business community is grateful to have Notre Dame and football Saturdays. But our goal as a community throughout the rest of the year ought to be to make sure that visitor experience extends beyond those six football Saturdays. You can play a part! Let’s all work together to welcome visitors to South Bend, Mishawaka, St. Joseph County, and anywhere they choose to visit in our area. The economic impact will be significant.
Jeff Rea is president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County.
