Year: 2014

2014 Chamber Accomplishments

As we put a wrap on another great year, thank you for your support as members. We’ll put together a more complete annual report to you after the first of the year, but here are a few top of the mind things that the Chamber did in 2014: 

Co-founded and led a new group called the Fix North I-25 Business Alliance. So far the Alliance has helped secure $35M for funding to help widen I-25 Local economy is growing rapidly Hosted world-renowned author Jim Collins (Built to Last: Good...

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The Seasonal Buzz

Christmas is two days away and the seasonal buzz is at a fevered pitch. Just yesterday I had breakfast in downtown Fort Collins with a friend at the Silver Grill. When we left at 9:00 customers were lined up waiting for a table. Over the noon hour I was back in Old Town and parking places were hard to find. On Saturday the College and Harmony corridors had lots of traffic and the stores my wife and I went into were busy.

Of course, busy-ness doesn’t automatically translate into g...

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Dear Santa

By my recollection, this is letter #54 that I've sent over the years!

In all that time we've only met once. Do you remember? You were stacking gifts against the back door since our house didn’t have a chimney. After having to climb down from the roof, your low-grade cursing – you called it ‘murmuring’ – woke me up. When you asked to use the bathroom I escorted you to our outhouse whereupon your ‘murmuring’ increased! There’s nothing quite...

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Fighting Against Voodoo Economics

Last Saturday the Fort Collins City Council had a planning retreat. One of the items on the Council’s agenda was discussion about an update to the City’s economic strategy. Let me go to the bottom line first: based on that discussion, it is and will continue to be the official policy of the City of Fort Collins to support a strong local economy through the retention and attraction of primary employers.Behind that good news, however, is a more nuanced conversation. There are actual...

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Moving Fort Collins Forward! Campaign a Huge Success

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce’s recently completed Moving Fort Collins Forward! campaign was a huge success. How big? Well, against a goal of $550,000 Chamber volunteers raised $600,912! Additionally, against a goal of 100 new members by the end of the year, we are currently at 96.As a reminder, this annual campaign is used to raise about half of the money the Chamber will need in the following year. The money goes toward programs, events and key strategic initiatives. An ex...

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Market Your Company Using Chamber Programs

The Chamber’s annual Moving Fort Collins Forward! campaign is in its final days. If you’re interested in sponsoring a program, event or initiative, there’s still time. Give Kim Medina on our team a call at 482-3751 x 104, and she’ll have one of our teams contact you. You can learn more about our key initiatives here (including our work to get I-25 widened) and sponsorship opportunities here.

As part of the campaign, we are also trying to grow our membership. We ...

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Tax Measure of Pet Projects?

In the past I have written about the long tradition in Fort Collins of citizens voting to tax themselves for public infrastructure improvements. Since 1973 city leaders have brought forward a series of proposed capital improvements for voter consideration. Many of the significant public infrastructure additions and improvements have come from these tax measures.

The last one was passed November 1, 2005.  Popularly known as “Building on Basics” – BOB for short – the measure was an ext...

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Tax Measure of Pet Projects?

In the past I have written about the long tradition in Fort Collins of citizens voting to tax themselves for public infrastructure improvements. Since 1973 city leaders have brought forward a series of proposed capital improvements for voter consideration. Many of the significant public infrastructure additions and improvements have come from these tax measures.

The last one was passed November 1, 2005.  Popularly known as “Building on Basics” – BOB for short &nd...

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Election April 2015

Are you tired of the election season sound and fury? I’m sure all of us are at this point, Democrat, Unaffiliated, Republican or other. At least in that we can all find common ground!

It’s mildly cruel then for me to start talking about the NEXT election when we aren’t done with the current one. However, City Council elections are rapidly approaching, only 5 months away.

Most of us are justifiably proud of our community, and by extension, our local government. ...

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Keep Larimer County Safe – Yes on 1B

You probably just received your mail-in ballot for this fall's election. I want to make a pitch for one measure in particular, Item 1B.When asked about 'quality of life,' most of us cite great schools or bike trails or open space, but is there any more important to your quality of life than your safety?Item 1B is the continuation of an existing tax to support the operations of the Larimer County jail system. Not sexy, not exciting, but very important.To learn more about Item 1B, here are a co...

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