Oregon Economic Development

The Local Government Affairs Council (LGAC) is a committed group of business leaders that meet nearly every Friday morning to study, discuss, and take action on the many pressing public policy issues that impact our community’s economic prosperity.  From enterprise zones to Downtown development to public safety funding, LGAC has led the charge for policies that encourage increased livability and economic vitality at the city, county, and state levels.

In January,  LGAC had several vacant positions, which attracted a tremendous level of interest, resulting in nearly fifteen applications from business leaders interested in helping chart the Chamber’s course and take a more active role in the Chamber’s public policy and advocacy work.   The Chamber works hard to maintain a broad representation of our membership.   We are excited to announce the following new Local Government Affairs Council members, who bring a wealth and breadth of perspectives and expertise:

o   Wendy Baker- Wendy J. Baker, Attorney at Law

o   Rob E. Bennett- Downtown Athletic Club

o   Julie Daniel- BRING Recycling

o   Jeanine Jackson- Pacific Benefit Planners

o   Ben Sappington- Pacific Continental Bank

o   Tenille Woodward-  Kernutt Stokes Brandt &Co.
 

We congratulate these members for their appointments, and thank them for their willingness to serve their Chamber and their community.
 

Next week the 2009-2010 class of the Leadership Eugene-Springfield program will reach the midway point in their community education experience.  The class, made up of up-and-coming leaders from businesses and nonprofits throughout the community, has studied leadership and communication styles; learned how to interact with the media; worked on meeting facilitation; learned about economic development challenges and opportunities in our region; investigated the management styles and government and cultural history of Eugene and Springfield; and examined local systems for meeting community health care and social service needs. 

Before the year is out, the class will have improved understanding of local public safety systems, land use planning and education, and been introduced to a variety of volunteer and appointed leadership opportunities.

The Leadership Eugene-Springfield class runs from October to May each year, with enrollment and admission each summer.  For more information about the program, or for an application for the 2010-2011 year, contact Jared Mason-Gere, Director of Business Advocacy, at (541) 242-2355 or JaredM@eugenechamber.com.

 

Over the past ten years the Eugene Chamber Economic Forecast event has become the region’s most comprehensive economic outlook conference each year featuring a panel of leading economists along with local experts presenting insights and predictions on the economic future for the region for the year ahead. This year’s event is set for Wednesday, Feb. 3rd at the Eugene Hilton and Conference Center. Set for 2:30-5pm, this year’s event will feature three components:

• Joe Cortright, President and principal economist for Impresa, a Portland consulting firm specializing in regional economic analysis, innovation and industry clusters will offer insights into community and university collaboration in economic development.
• Timothy A. Duy, Adjunct Assistant Professor and Director, Oregon Economic Forum, Department of Economics, University of Oregon and author of the University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators will offer his insights into the economic future of the region.
• The event will conclude with the well-known economist panel of experts offering predictions on what’s to come in 2010 including: Bill Conerly, economist and financial consultant; Tom Potiowsky, former state economist; Brian Rooney, local economist for Oregon Employment Department; Timothy A. Duy, Adjunct Assistant Professor and Director, Oregon Economic Forum, Department of Economics, University of Oregon Ed Whitelaw, president of ECONorthwest; and John Mitchell, M&H Economic Consultants of Portland,

Chamber member costs include $450 Table for 10 - Preferred Seating; $40 Individual seat at table (non-reserved); $30 Individual seat - theater style. Non member costs $50 Individual seat at table or $40 Individual seat - theater style.

Economic Forecast is sponsored by Oregon Community Credit Union and Providence Health Plan. Register now.

The staff of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce looks forward to:
 

• Providing promotion and networking opportunities for our members,
• Advancing responsible economic development projects, and
• Advocating for business-friendly public policy

for the Eugene/Springfield business community in the coming new year.

Happy New Year!

The key trends shaping cities and region are fairly well-known: More baby boomers are planning to retire; the number of women joining the workforce has stabilized; and college attainment levels have plateaued. As a result, young professionals are becoming increasingly important to the economic health of growing cities, according to one national report.

The study by Portland economist Joe Cortright indicates that young, college-educated workers are capable of counteracting this impending economic shift because of their entrepreneurial nature and willingness to relocate. The key to growing cities will be to attract and retain young professionals, Cortright says in “The Young and Restless in a Knowledge Economy.”

Recognizing that opportunity, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce is leading and supporting efforts to retain, engage and attract young professionals:

•Young Professionals Network (YPN). The focus of YPN is to provide programs specifically targeted to meet the needs of young professionals for networking, professional and personal development, community involvement, awareness and influence.
•Entrepreneurial programs. Through Chamber initiatives such as the entrepreneurial support group SmartUps and the investor-focused Willamette Angel Network and conference, we’re supporting new ideas and business success.
•Partnership with the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. Since 1986, we’ve worked together to promote and foster the development of volunteer leadership. While not exclusively for young professionals, Leadership Eugene-Springfield (LES) has attracted participants who have used the program to establish meaningful volunteer leadership roles in our community that meet the area’s need for the active participation of informed, skilled and motivated community leaders.
•A central role in the creation of the Arts and Business Alliance of Eugene (ABAE). This new group enriches the cultural life of our community by acting as a catalyst for creating dynamic partnerships between the art, culture and business sectors.

Eugene-Springfield’s well-deserved reputation for outstanding livability, coupled with efforts to hold on to and attract talented young people, will be an important piece of an economic strategy that drives a prosperous future.

Dave Hauser is president of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. As the area’s leading business advocate, the Chamber works to create an environment in which business will thrive. The Chamber works with partners in business, government and education to improve the quality of life for local residents.

 

If you saw the Profile about Birth To Three and David and Tracie Gonyea in November’s “Open For Business,” you also saw the Chamber in action.

Birth To Three is a recipient of “Chamber Cares,” the Chamber’s initiative to help area non-profits. Birth To Three was one of several selected. Each recipient is receiving support via a spotlight in Open For Business, inclusion in the monthly all-member mailing, and placement of a poster in the Chamber lobby.

Birth To Three’s executive director, Minalee Saks, says, “Any increase in donations in times of economic stress means Birth To Three will be better able to maintain parenting programs, thus continuing to help local families create the nurturing environment all children should have.”

Opportunities include the annual campaign and business sponsorships of Cirque de Famille. Learn more about Birth To Three at http://www.birthto3.org or on Facebook.

Marilyn Milne

Communications Director

Birth To Three

birthto3.org

541-434-4356

The announced closure last summer of Hynix Semiconductor Manufacturing America and layoffs by a handful of the region’s most prominent employers served as reminders of just how fragile our local economy can be. While Eugene/Springfield has had its share of economic development successes over the past decade, recent announcements point to the need for a comprehensive regional economic development game plan.

A generally accepted definition of economic development is "the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants." I really like the last part. Throughout our 100-plus years, the Eugene Chamber has linked a strong local economy with the livability of the people in the community.

So how is the local economy performing?

If our local economy were a college football team, you could say we are struggling to become bowl eligible. That’s not to suggest we haven’t had economic successes. We have. Or that local economic development organizations, including the Eugene Chamber, aren’t working hard to produce results. We are.

What holds us back is the absence of a comprehensive regional economic development strategy. Today, there are no fewer than 14 economic development organizations in Eugene/Springfield, each working from a different business plan. If we were a football team, we’d be trying to win a game with each player working from a different playbook.

We need a regional playbook. A plan that aligns the efforts of public and private players with an economic development strategy that defines the kind of local economy we aspire to -- and that then institutes a series of coordinated steps to achieve it. We need a plan that produces more results to advance the well-being of residents.

This is a top priority of the Eugene Chamber. We are, and have been, committed to collaborating with local partners to produce results that work for our communities.

Dave Hauser is president of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. As the area’s leading business advocate, the Chamber works to create an environment in which business will thrive. The Chamber works with partners in business, government and education to improve the quality of life for local residents.

Demographics and livability may significantly contribute to our region’s economic recovery. At least the research of one Oregon economist says it’s so — and that bodes well for our region.

No matter that you are not an expert demographer. You can probably guess the key trends shaping all cities and regions: More baby boomers are planning to retire; the number of women joining the workforce has stabilized; and college attainment levels have plateaued. As a result, young professionals are becoming increasingly important to the economic health of growing cities, according to a recent national report.

The study by Portland economist Joe Cortright indicates that young, college-educated workers are capable of counteracting this impending economic shift because of their entrepreneurial nature and willingness to relocate. The key to growing cities will be to attract and retain young professionals, Cortright says in “The Young and Restless in a Knowledge Economy.”

And much is at stake in attempting to attract these young and talented 25 to 34 year olds who will determine the path of our economy.

These trailblazers are more concerned about quality-of-life issues than being in a hot market. They are 60 percent more likely to live in areas close to the core of a community. So you can argue that young professionals will not only influence the future of local economies, but their desire to live close-in will help drive long-standing planning goals of building and preserving healthy downtown cores.

Recognizing that opportunity, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce is leading and supporting a host of efforts to retain, engage and attract young professionals:

• The creation of the Young Professionals Network (YPN). The focus of YPN is to provide young professionals with programming specifically targeted to meet their needs for networking, professional and personal development, community involvement, awareness and influence.
• The development of programs that we believe will create a local climate that supports entrepreneurs and innovation. Through Chamber initiatives such as the entrepreneurial support group SmartUps and the investor-focused Willamette Angel Network and Willamette Angel Conference, we’re creating an environment that supports new ideas and business success.
• Partnerships since 1986 with the Springfield Chamber of Commerce to promote and foster the development of volunteer leadership in our communities. Leadership Eugene-Springfield (LES) is a program designed to meet our area’s need for the active participation of informed, skilled and motivated community leaders. While not exclusively for young professionals, LES has attracted participants who have used the program to establish meaningful volunteer leadership roles in our community.
• A central role in the creation of the Arts and Business Alliance of Eugene (ABAE). The mission of the new group is dedicated to enriching the cultural life of our community by acting as a catalyst for creating dynamic partnerships between the arts, culture and business sectors.

Eugene-Springfield’s well-deserved reputation for outstanding livability, coupled with efforts to hold on to and attract talented young people, will be an important piece of an economic strategy that drives a prosperous future.

Dave Hauser is the president of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, a 1200-member organization dedicated to promoting a healthy local economy.

The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce supports sustainability and the City of Eugene’s goals of making our community a prominent home to leading sustainable businesses.

In this vein, the Chamber enthusiastically supports Seneca Renewable Energy’s proposed biomass cogeneration facility. The Chamber believes this is a chance to take local sustainability efforts to the next level, and capitalize on current opportunities to grow our local economy.

Our Mayor and City Council have strongly advocated for sustainability and the potential for increased efficiency and reduced waste to pay dividends to Eugene area businesses. With support from the City Council, Mayor Piercy launched the Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI) with the goal of making Eugene one of the most sustainable mid-sized cities by the year 2020.

In the 2006 report to the City Council, The Sustainable Business Initiative Task Force’s "Vision of a Sustainable Eugene" calls for a scenario in which Eugene would be home to businesses that "have become so efficient in their use of energy and generating their own renewable energy that many are net energy producers that sell surplus power back to local utilities for redistribution to other citizens." Community decisions would "result in reduced vehicle miles traveled, reduced energy consumption, and reduced reliance on fossil fuels." The Seneca Renewable Energy facility will help make this vision a reality.

The Sustainable Business Initiative calls for a "triple bottom line" for businesses and governments that accounts for environmental and social impacts in addition to the traditional economic bottom line. The new Seneca facility will put local contractors and their employees to work during these difficult economic times, as well as create permanent, family-wage jobs for area residents. Seneca will use wood byproducts, 100% of which will be supplied by their existing operations, to power their dry kiln and produce nearly 20 megawatts of electricity, while using best available control technology to meet and exceed emissions standards.

By creating family-wage jobs, producing clean power and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and generating a profit, Seneca’s cogeneration facility fits the "people, planet, profit" model for sustainable business. The Chamber is excited to have a project of this scope occurring locally, hiring local employees and construction companies, and holding the potential to sell the produced electricity to EWEB.

The Eugene Chamber of Commerce welcomes Seneca’s contribution to local sustainability efforts, because it will contribute to our shared goal of building a healthy local economy, and a healthy, vibrant community.

Please contact the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) at LRAPA Permit Coordinator, 1010 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon 97477 or E-Mail: colleen@lrapa.org

and the Eugene Water and Electric Board here: http://www.eweb.org/ContactUs.aspx?id=20 to let them know you support Seneca’s cogeneration facility, and clean, homegrown energy.

Small business owners concentrate a lot on what they do best – selling their products or services. During good economic times, you can probably run your business successfully focusing mostly on that. During tough economic times, however, the belief that as long as you are still selling goods the rest of the business will take care of itself doesn’t necessarily hold true. As the economy slows and credit tightens, you need to expand your job description to include oversight of areas that may have been unnecessary to examine during the good years but can help with survival through the economic downturn.

• Manage your cash flow. Review your cash position and anticipated cash needs. Ask yourself, have you been meeting your budgeted projections? How much of a drop in revenues can your business withstand and for how long?
• Manage your receivables. Look at who you are selling to and evaluate their credit worthiness. Watch for new patterns of slow payments and follow up immediately. Keep receivable agings current at all times.
• Analyze your expenses. Determine which ones can be controlled by disciplining your spending. Can you reduce spending in any areas to put fewer burdens on your cash-flow needs?
• Review your financing. Talk to your lenders to determine the status of your credit lines, compliance with their terms and likelihood of renewing their commitments with similar amounts, rates and terms. Review your reliance on credit and make sure it is in line with your business’s short-term needs, goals and risk tolerance.
• Don’t panic. A solid financial plan can help you face the current economic challenges. Develop a plan now to respond to future declines in revenues before they actually occur. Review your business strategies and update projections. Review your product/service lines to identify the most profitable items and determine how to leverage for future growth in profits.

By Kim Conway, Kernutt Stokes Brandt & Co. LLP for the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce.
 

Challenging economic times require new approaches to grow the local economy. With that in mind, the Eugene Chamber, in conjunction with the Springfield Chamber, recently convened a discussion of health sector leaders along with economic and educational organizations with an eye toward exploring the willingness to move from general consensus that opportunities exist toward a more strategic approach to health cluster development.

Eugene Chamber leadership believes that Eugene/Springfield metro area possesses significant assets, energy, and support to more strategically develop the health sector’s economic contribution to the region. "We are excited about the opportunity to identify short-term and long-term opportunities where collective focus would provide the greatest benefit and accelerate growth of health sector." commented Chamber Chair Eric Forrest (Pepsi-Cola Bottling of Eugene).

Among the participants in the regional collaboration are the City of Eugene, City of Springfield, University of Oregon, Lane Community College, PeaceHealth, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, Lane Workforce Partnership and Lane Metro Partnership.