St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet Saturday at Civic Arena marks 102 years of the chamber’s achievements.
Among the notable marks from 2021 was economic development, with $138-million invested by member businesses. It was the highest since 2017, demonstrating the adaptability of local businesses, Chamber Chairman of the Board Bill Severn said.
“It really shows the strength of our local businesses that they’re continuing to make improvements and continuing their expansions,” he said. “We’re also attracting and recruiting new businesses, and have a building going up outside the town.”
One of the chamber’s initiatives in 2021 was a collaborative effort with local companies to create a job website for attracting prospective residents on a national scale, Severn said.
“It’s really important for the chamber to assess what the needs are in our community and then use our resources to go out and try (to) assist businesses in the community,” he said.
Bringing the same positive trends to 2022 will require continued assessment and adaptation, Severn said
