Page 4 - LRCC July 2022 Focus

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAMBER FOCUS MAGAZINE | JULY 2022

The Chamber’s Role In Building a

Thriving Community

ust 12 months ago the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce (LRCC) Annual
Dinner marked the return to in-person networking events after a long, Covid-
Jinduced hiatus. The widespread sentiment among attendees was a feeling that it
was a long overdue and much needed celebration. One year later, as we gathered for
the Annual Dinner, I felt an aura of optimism and a feeling that a sense of normalcy has
returned to our lives.

The Annual Dinner is one of our favorite times of the year, as it is an evening of
celebrating and recognizing outstanding leadership in our community. Please read this
month’s FOCUS cover story for a summary of the festive event.
TIM DAMAN
Last month, I congratulated all our deserving Annual Dinner Award recipients as part PRESIDENT AND CEO
LANSING REGIONAL
of my Message from the Chamber. Again, I wanted to highlight our newest award, the CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Diversity Star Award which honors an organization committed to promoting diversity
in their organization and the community. We are pleased to partner with our friends
at Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) to present this annual award. It is a
recognition of the commitment that both our organizations have been placing on
diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and a testimony to the importance that DEI means
to building a better region. There could be no more appropriate organization than
Peckham to have received the first Diversity Star Award.

The Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce (LRCC) will also release our 2021 Annual
Report. Despite the year’s many challenges, the LRCC was able to drive growth and The LRCC
improvement in several development and infrastructure projects and talent and
workforce development initiatives. We were also honored to collaborate with LEAP and Annual Dinner
ten key business and education stakeholders to create the first State of the Lansing is a testimony
Region Benchmarking Report. The report highlighted the region’s core strengths and to the role our
growth opportunities by comparing it to 11 thriving communities across the country on
42 economic indicators. thriving business
community plays
We are excited by our continued progress in the membership area, the lifeblood of our
organization. Member retention in the past year was at nearly 90 percent! Our members in helping to build
clearly find value in investing in the LRCC. We are pleased with our continued leadership a stronger region.
in the advocacy arena, as LRCC and the Lansing Regional Chamber Political Action
Committee helped elect five members to the Lansing and East Lansing City Councils, I thank you for
including the re-election of Lansing Mayor Andy Schor. Our leadership in advocating that support and
for infrastructure projects resulted in $275 million in infrastructure and over $3 billion in wish you the very
new regional development projects.
best success as
We are equally excited about the 35 ribbon-cuttings and 31 in-person and virtual events we look forward
that the LRCC hosted in 2021 and the nearly 4,400 attendees. We also enjoyed honoring
so many outstanding and deserving organizations and individuals at the Celebration to the remainder
of Regional Growth Awards, ATHENA Leadership Award luncheon, Annual Dinner, and of 2022 and
other events and programming along with highlighting future leaders at our 10 Over the beyond!
Next Ten Awards and Leadership Lansing programs.
The LRCC Annual Dinner is a testimony to the role our thriving business community
plays in helping to build a stronger region. I thank you for that support and wish you the
very best success as we look forward to the remainder of 2022 and beyond! l

4