After four hours of strategic planning, economic development and creating jobs emerged as the overriding theme for the Regional Chamber’s 42 directors. According to Chamber Chair Hugh Greene, the group did not develop any specific job creation, but agreed to focus the organization's energies in the following areas.
The port of Jacksonville. “There is a very strong consensus that we need to focus on JaxPort because of the opportunity the Jacksonville port brings in terms of being an economic engine for job creation and good-paying jobs for our community,” said Greene. “This is a strategic area that is laden with opportunity, but still also faces some fairly formidable challenges, so we really are making this a very high priority.”
Downtown development. “We believe that for the City to move to another level, again in the context of economic development, we really need to start the revitalization of Downtown,” said Greene. “We will work in concert with the Jacksonville Civic Council and elected leaders to help make the business community aware of the importance of the issue as well as the general population, and also support an implementation plan.”
Greene said Mayor John Peyton appointed a task force last year that has been working to determine how best to develop downtown. “We await that plan.”
Education and workforce development. Greene said the chamber will work closely with the Duval County School Board and board Chair W.C. Gentry. “There are a lot of things at work with the school board as far as opportunities,” he said. “The whole issue of public education related to the development of the work force is critical.”
Advocacy with elected leaders. “We have a unique situation with the chamber working with a brand new mayor and many new members of the City Council, and we need to foster a strong working relationship to achieve the goals of economic development,” said Greene. He wants the chamber to “make sure they are aware of the issues and challenges.”
Small and second-stage businesses. “Those businesses do contain most of the jobs in our community, but at the same time, it’s those jobs where the economy has had its major impact. They are the heart and soul of the chamber,” he said.
“We want to make sure we bring value for them and even embark on some initiatives, such as encouraging business purchasing from each other in the business community.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars. “We concluded that we cannot let up on our efforts” to support the area’s NFL team, he said. “We still believe that we need to strongly encourage the business community to be supportive of the Jaguars, so we will keep that focus as well.”
Read the entire article, "Chamber’s strategic retreat sets 2011 goals", at the Financial News and Daily Record online http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=532774
Though the priorities identified by the Chamber represent variables or factors that can positively influence long-term commercial interests of the city, they do not necessarily represent things that will yield a rapid and sustainable increase in quality employment opportunities. A vibrant downtown and a professional football team are critical elements in a city marketing campaign, but their influence on job creation will be indirect and hard to gauge. The Chamber places port expansion and enhancement at the top of its priority list, yet the funding for such development is tenuous at best. The likelihood of obtaining federal, state, or local funding seems to diminish on a daily basis as the trumpet-calls for budget cutbacks increase. Even if funding is acquired, it will probably be several years in the future and even longer before the funds have an effect. It would be nice to hear or read more about a Plan B for port-related development. The single element in the Chamber priority list that will have a rapid impact on job opportunities is that of small and second-stage business development. Whether those jobs have quality and longevity depends on the methods used during the development process.
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