Wichita Chamber had busy, successful year

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce is nearing the completion of a pivotal year, and it’s been a pleasure for me to be at the helm of the organization as the 2016 chairman. Part of our important work the past 12 months has been ensuring that we’re providing the most impact for our members.

Developing, fostering and communicating our ability to be a more responsive and resourceful organization has been my main mission. And I believe this partial list of this year’s accomplishments reflects our improved sensitivity to the rapidly changing needs of our members:

▪  Worked with state and local government to accomplish 16 legislative pro-business wins;

▪  Activated six policy subcommittees of the chamber’s Government Relations Committee to heighten member engagement on critical issues;

▪  Initiated “On Topic, Off the Record” listening sessions with Together Wichita to lead a dialogue in the business community about major initiatives;

▪  Developed the Manufacturers Roundtable with 12 participants;

▪  Hosted 250 attendees for the first Engage and Ignite Small Business Conference in May and re-invented the Small Business Owners Roundtable program;

▪  Convened 90 business and community leaders to discuss race relations and the chamber’s role in inclusion;

▪  Increased regional and young professional participation chamber programs;

▪  Created an Education Policy Task Force to impact the education funding formula and to focus on the region’s workforce and skilled training needs.

Our 2016 annual meeting was held Dec. 1 and provided us a great opportunity to emphasize the importance of growing Wichita’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Spotlighting the diversity of entrepreneurial talent we have in the region and demonstrating our alignment with our community and government partners were the highlights of the evening.

As we prepare to celebrate the Chamber’s 100-year anniversary next year, I want to thank all of our members and regional partners for their confidence in our mission and their continued dedication to working with us to write the next chapter of Wichita’s history.

This story was originally published December 11, 2016 at 5:02 AM with the headline "Wichita Chamber had busy, successful year."