Blog

As 2011 comes to a close, best wishes for 2012 and thank you for your support of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce!

The Chamber has a full and active work plan for 2012. Top priorities include a strong focus on jobs and the economy, key new programs for members and working to identify business-oriented people to run for City Council in 2013.

The nine objectives for 2012 are:

• Attract and retain primary jobs in Fort Collins
• Foster a strong business climate that creates jobs
• Help members stay informed on key issues
• Grow community leaders
• Identify people willing to run for public office that support business and a strong local economy
• Recognize and celebrate small business
• Help members connect with prospects and customers and have unique and memorable experiences
• Support development of current and future workforce
• Maintain a well-run chamber 

You can read a fuller description here.

Happy New Year!

2011 was a good year for our area. Among the 'good news' stories:

• The community’s business incubator – Rocky Mountain Innosphere – opened a new building
• Hewlett-Packard made a major investment in a 50,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art server efficiency research facility
• Fort Collins rated 15^th in nation for economic vibrancy among college towns in The Atlantic
• Vestas received a 56 turbine order for a project in Michigan
• Poudre Valley Health System’s CEO Rulon Stacey was listed among the ‘100 Most Influential People in Healthcare’ by Modern Healthcare Magazine
• OtterBox was ranked 70^th on Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies
• OtterBox opened a new headquarters building on Meldrum next to Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce
• CSU Engines Lab was listed as one of the nation’s top 25 academic laboratories by Popular Science Magazine
• Tolmar, a Fort Collins-based pharmaceutical company, expanded its research and development facilities by 21,000 sq. ft.
• In-Situ, a Fort Collins-based firm that designs, manufactures, distributes, installs and rents equipment for monitoring the quality and quantity of groundwater and surface water, bought WaterraUK
• Fort Collins-Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked 3^rd in nation on Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities index, which ranks 200 large and 179 small U.S. metro areas according to the most important economic criteria related to growth and prosperity: jobs, wages, and technology performance

And on and on. For a fuller list, go here.

A consulting report titled “City of Fort Collins: Economic Health Strategic Plan, December 2011” has been submitted to the City by Austin-based consultant TIP Strategies, Inc.

I’m going out on a minor limb, but I think this is probably the first-ever professionally prepared, data-driven economic plan in the city’s history, and it’s a good one.

The guiding principles are that the City’s ‘economic health program seeks to create a vibrant, resilient economy,’ and the ‘collaboration of government, academia, companies, and non-profits is the foundation of this approach.’

The plan outlines four main objectives for the community to consider:

1. A comprehensive, collaborative, and effective structure for managing economic development in Fort Collins.
2. A robust innovation ecosystem and economy that supports companies at all stages of growth.
3. A complete system for talent management that meets the needs of current and future employers.
4. High quality community assets and infrastructure necessary to attract and retain employers and talent.

The report is chock-a-block full of information and you can find it here.