Category: Economic Development

Below is an auto-generated transcription of my conversation with Bill Sisson. Because this is auto-generated there are likely some grammatical errors but it is still a useful tool to search text within this podcast episode.

Feel free to join our Chamber Chat Champions Facebook Group to discuss this episode and to share your own experiences and tips with other Chamber Champions.

Introduction

Brandon Burton 0:00
This is the Chamber Chat Podcast, the show dedicated to chamber professionals to spark ideas and to get actionable tips and strategies to better serve your members and community.

Voiceover Talent 0:14
And now your host he is excited that his new home gym is now complete. Here’s my dad Brandon Burton.

Brandon Burton 0:20
Hello Chamber Champions. Welcome to the Chamber Chat Podcast. I’m your host Brandon Burton, where it’s my goal to introduce you to people and ideas to better help you serve your members and your community.

Our title sponsor is Holman Brothers Membership Sales Solutions. Let’s hear from Tony Felker, President and CEO of the Frisco Chamber to learn how the Holman Brothers have provided value for him.

Tony Felker 0:43
One of the key benefits that we’ve realized from Holman Brothers it’s actually happened many years after we started using them. We just completed our new strategic plan and understanding those subtle differences between transactional benefits and transformational benefits. The companies that knew what they expect has been a key part in our strategic plan. And we really want to thank Holman Brothers for that.

Brandon Burton 1:04
You can learn more about Holman Brothers Membership Sales Solutions by visiting holmanbros.com.

Guest Introduction

Our guests for this episode is Bill Sisson. Bill is the president and CEO of William B Sisson and Associates, an economic and community development consulting business located in the Atlanta Georgia area. Prior to starting his business, he served as the president and CEO of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and Mobile, Alabama, from 2013 through 2021. Bill also served as executive director for the Mobile Alabama airport authority from 2008 through 2013. In that position, he was responsible for the mobile Regional Airport at Bakersfield and the Brookley industrial complex near downtown Mobile, the two airfields combined to make up more than 3700 acres of prime industrial development property in the central Gulf Coast region. Before joining the airport authority bill served as vice president of economic development at the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and as Vice President of Business Development at the Birmingham Alabama Regional Chamber of Commerce. his professional career includes positions held at the University of Southern Mississippi and at Dominion Bank shares and first Virginia bank in Roanoke, Virginia. Bill earned his MBA from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from James Madison University in Harrisburg, Virginia. He also holds a diploma from the Institute of organizational management. He is a member of Rotary International and has served on the boards of various local community organizations. He has also served on the board of directors for ACCE the committee of 100 of the US Chamber of Commerce and the Business Council of Alabama, and is a past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce association of Alabama. Bill, I’m excited to have you with me today here on chamber tap podcast, I’d like for you just to take a moment to say hello to all the Chamber Champions out there listening and share something interesting about yourself so you can get to know you a little bit better.

Bill Sisson 3:11
Well, Greetings, everyone. It’s a pleasure to be with you this morning, Brian, and thank you so much for the invitation to join you. You’re asked to share something interesting. And you sort of covered that in the bio in that, although I have worked in economic change or development really for most of my career over 30 years. And I did have that stint at the mobile airport authority. And that was decidedly different than anything that I had done before. It probably makes more sense if I explained that a lot of economic development was taking place at the at the mobile airport authority because of, as you mentioned, the Brookley aeroplanes, which is the largest industrial, you know, site in the in the mid the mid Gulf Coast. So that’s where Airbus located a number of years ago, and they just recently announced an expansion there as a matter of fact, so that was a different world going into aviation. I’m not a pilot. And in fact, when the board of directors came to me to ask me to take the position as executive director there, I was at the Chamber of Commerce at the time doing economic development. My first response was, Well, I don’t know anything about running an airport. So you can learn that and, and actually, it did end up being a great experience. So that’s a sort of a outlier part of my career, but it was certainly good for me during the process.

Brandon Burton 4:40
I could see where that could be a little bit overwhelming jumping into a field that you’re totally unfamiliar with, but I see a lot of parallels with economic development, as he had mentioned. Absolutely. So well share with us I know I shared in your bio, but I’d like for you to share maybe a little bit more background on your background working at chamber and economic development work just to kind of help set the table for our discussion today. And, and it may help just to give some perspective to the size of those organizations you

Bill Sisson 5:09
worked with as well. Yeah, I’d be happy to do that. While I was in graduate school at the University of Alabama, I’m actually did an assistantship there, I worked for the Alabama Productivity Center, and there was an executive on loan from Alabama Power, who introduced me to a job that was coming up at the Birmingham Regional Chamber. So people often wonder how people get into the chamber. That’s how I fell into it. I’ve always been interested in chambers of commerce, you know, even growing up, I was interested in what they did. You know, business developments always been something that I have observed and watched and wanted to be involved in. So it’s actually a really good fit for me. And as they say, the rest is history. I was involved in business development at the Chamber in Birmingham, which scale was a very large chamber. They had, I think, 55 on staff, or 4000. Members. And that’s where I first got involved in economic development. It’s when I went to chamber Institute learned more about the profession, we were working hand in hand with the separate economic development organization in Birmingham called the Metropolitan development board. But we still had a very strong role in economic development, which I can go into a little bit more as we continue this discussion. But we were basically responsible for ancillary economic development, you know, retail development, working with smaller prospects, providing research to the economic development, organization, and so forth. I left there to go work at the University of Southern Miss, and I worked there and they’re ran their community, their Center for Community and Economic Development, their people can get their their master’s degree in economic development in Southern Miss. And so that was, you know, a great learning experience for me to understand a little bit more how universities tick, because they have a huge role in economic development, as we all know. And then, of course, the research side of that, you know, that that was a great experience, I was recruited to come back to Alabama to be the economic developer, the Vice President of economic development for the mobile area Chamber of Commerce. And, you know, I did that stint for, you know, five, almost six years before, as I mentioned, going to the airport authority, and then was brought back to the chamber immobile to be the president and CEO, which I was in that role until very recently. That chamber also has a large chamber, they affording on staff, about a $6 million annual budget, little over 2000. Members. So I have primarily worked in larger, larger chambers, but I’m certainly a partner with smaller chambers, all along that, you know, along that road.

Brandon Burton 8:06
Yeah, I think that really helps is, we haven’t mentioned yet what our topic is today, but people may have seen from their podcast player, the topic being the economic development role of every chamber, so not just the big chambers that have that that task and responsibility of economic development. But even some of these smaller more local chambers, they have a role as well. So I’m excited to dive into this discussion with you as you’ve had experience with that direct responsibility and not so much directly. So to get your perspective on that as soon as we get back from this quick break.

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Topic-The Economic Development Role of Every Chamber

All right, Bill, we are back. And as I mentioned before the break our topic of the role of economic development for every chamber. So obviously, you’ve had a vast experience with economic development, whether it was something that you were tasked with directly or you were helping to support the economic development agency in your area, all the way to being the Director of Economic Development. So you’ve seen the the wide spectrum. So I’d love for you just to share from your experience. Maybe first of all, let’s let’s talk about some of the smaller chambers. What what role could a smaller local chamber have in economic development, if they’re surrounded by, you know, the 800 pound gorillas in the region that really run away with with economic development?

Bill Sisson 12:12
Well, I think that I’m very bullish on the fact that all chambers no matter the size, no matter whether they have direct role in economic development, or not, that they should be involved in that process. So I think as a director or vice president of a chamber, you really ought to be pushing to have a seat at the table. And here’s why really, um, as we all know, you know, chambers are different in every community, they take on the character of the community in which they’re located. This is true, but sometimes I hear small chambers say, Well, I don’t really do economic development, but but really, they are involved in economic development, if nothing more than on the existing business side of that side of the equation. I think that a smaller local chamber has an extremely important role in helping business prospects, businesses that are and individuals that are moving to the community, relocating to the community, helping them to connect with existing businesses that are there, and then is a very, very important role. As new businesses relocate, especially if they’re coming from overseas, they really want to know, hey, the water’s fine here. A chamber even if they’re not directly involved in the economic development process, the chamber can certainly set up those meetings, and help that company to understand the experience, hopefully positive one that existing businesses have had and are having in the community. And I think maybe most importantly, the chamber can illustrate that it is a pro business environment in which a business can grow, be happy, healthy, and continue to expand and add additional jobs as as time goes on. So that’s one very important role, and there are others. But that one, certainly in my opinion, sort of rises to the surface of what any chamber can

Brandon Burton 14:12
do. So as you mentioned, the role of connecting these businesses that are looking to relocate to a certain area and connecting them with existing businesses and showing them you know, how great the community is, would you suggest maybe connecting them with other businesses of a similar size, maybe different industry that similar size or maybe supportive type businesses who could develop a long term relationship with them? Should they make the move what what would be your thinking behind that?

Bill Sisson 14:41
So my thinking would be all of that, really, I mean, I think some, you know, of course meetings with similarly sized organization in similar sectors, but I think also hearing from other sectors and other sized businesses is helpful, as well. And of course, the site if there’s a site selector involved in this process, they would, of course, help direct that they would, they would ask you to, you know, find those existing businesses that are appropriate for those for those interviews, but being the facilitator and the convener of that, really nobody else that can do that quite like a chamber, or they are the members of the organization. So, you know, and in most existing businesses want to help, they want to help and they want to, you know, the sing the praises of the community, from the rooftops, so to speak. So, it’s a pivotal role in the process.

Brandon Burton 15:33
Yeah. What about any kind of, for lack of a better term on the call it marketing material from a smaller chambers perspective to maybe as packages are getting put together, I come from the publishing, industry, chamber publishing. So I think in terms of a media kit, right, somebody wants to do some advertising and send them some samples, media kits, I would anticipate with economic development, there’s some sort of package, it’s probably done more digitally now. But maybe there are some physical items, you send, magazines, brochures, maps, you know, things that have the area, are there things that come to mind, again, from the smaller chamber perspective that maybe they ought to be mindful of to try to include in these type of packets that go out to these businesses,

Bill Sisson 16:24
I’m really glad that you brought that up, Brandon, because I don’t think anything has changed as much as that since I’ve been in this business, you know, used to be you put those physical packages together, right, that you sent out to the business prospects, everything’s digital now. Which means that it has to be the, it has to be up to date, it has to be very current, there’s no forgiving of, you know, research or information with whiskers on it, that this is not going to work. And I think that it’s important for, for chambers to realize that they are the gateway to the community in many cases. So there may be some research that is going on way before anybody locally, or at the state levels, even contacted by the business or the site selector, where they’re doing some pre, you know, work some some research. So if they have bad information on their, on their website, that is going to get the community eliminated pretty quickly. So it’s really important for the chamber, regardless of whether they think they had that role or not to have information digitally, completely up to date, as if they’re on display display, you know, at any given moment, which they could be. So that’s an, I’m so glad you brought that up, because I think a lot of communities miss the mark, because of because of that,

Brandon Burton 17:46
I had actually just come across a chamber probably a month ago, that really was talking about their relocation guide that they, you know, their chamber directory relocation guide. And their economic development director said, you know, we use these in our packets that we send out for, you know, trying to recruit businesses to the area, because it’s a great snapshot of what our community is about, it gives a feel of the vibe and the community layout and all that. And that’s a great idea to include something like that, as you try to attract business to your area. So having something you’re proud of, to showcase and have have good articles and information in there that can help guide a decision. So

Bill Sisson 18:25
it also, you know, the service after the sale is so important in this work. And a lot of times I see that get I see that sort of fall through the cracks, but communities that do that, well, you know, really are going to be successful. And what I mean by that is, you know, helping the company assimilate into the community in a positive way. I’ll be honest with you, I have seen, particularly international companies relocate and do it very well. And I’ve seen them do it poorly. And, you know, their success in the community has to do with how well they assimilate into the, into the community. So wherever the chamber can help with that, to help, you know, connect them help them to understand what’s important in the community, whether it’s United Way or or what other, you know, whatever organization is integral to the community, but also helping individuals families to settle in smoothly, particularly with international prospects, because there’s, there’s families are moving here and know very little of how things really work. You know, how to get a cell phone, checking account, you know, just so many things that we just sort of, you know, sort of do in our sleep. They’ve got to start fresh and do it in a different way. So anyway, one of the things we did to iMobile chamber which I was quite proud of is develop a program called mobiel Connect, which was all about helping families that were moving to the area to I’m connect with, you know, movie Aliens into, to sort of develop those friendships quickly. So that those folks can be ambassadors and help them get get used to the community and to feel a part of the community as quickly as possible.

Brandon Burton 20:14
So I’m glad you brought that up. Because I think that is a key part of making a move easier, right, to be able to welcome those employees, that company with open arms, help them become part of the community. What are some examples with mobile connect that, you know, some tangible items that people can maybe get some of those ideas? And again, we can implement something like that in our community?

Bill Sisson 20:38
Where do you see success? I’m happy to share that. Yeah, um, you know, we did bimonthly, every other month sessions, where we would have a topic about the community, whether it’s the history of the history of the community, you know, the arcs in the community, certainly, you know, we did an economic development, you know, section of that as well to help them understand how economic development, you know, works in the community. But it also provided a social environment, because we always, you know, had heavy hors d’oeuvres and encouraged people to invite the newcomers out to dinner afterwards, to, you know, make those connections as quickly as possible, but giving them sort of a an overview of the community. I kind of, you know, I explain it, it’s sort of like a leadership class, except for the newcomers, so that they can learn more about the community quickly, and it was wildly successful, I was sort of surprised at how appreciative they were, the newcomers were to learn about the community and to understand a little bit more about the arts, fabric, and, and so forth. So, you know, I would highly recommend people look at that, maybe just some simple way, maybe one session, you know, but do something like that, to help people to connect quickly.

Brandon Burton 22:01
So, as you were explaining about that, it made me think, Yeah, I’ve seen before where a big corporation moves to a city, and they get a lot of attention from the city from the chamber, economic development. And you’re always going to have a handful of those Chamber members that feel slighted. Like you’re getting all the attention to the big corporation that just moved here, they can have a role in helping to welcome them, helping them to integrate into the community, I can see where that really strengthens the relationship, even with those existing members to say, look, you’ve got a new customer base, if you’re making new connections here. You’ve I mean, it just supports everything. So I think that is such a key part to not Shun, you know, the your existing members, but make them be a part of welcoming these new companies into town.

Bill Sisson 22:51
Yeah, Brandon, you’ve actually cracked the code there. No, seriously. We saw it as a way to not only help the new business coming, and certainly the families coming, but as a way to thank our investors, who were so involved in the process and helping us help them to make those connections, because, you know, the bonuses is that in many cases, they develop those relationships, and they end up being able to do business with, you know, some of those businesses that are that are coming to the area. So we saw it as a membership retention tool, as well.

Brandon Burton 23:27
Yeah, absolutely. So, maybe share with us some some thoughts from the larger chamber perspective. They are tasked with external economic development, they may have dedicated staff, you know, a number of staff dedicated towards economic development. I think some of this is becomes a little bit obvious because especially those listening, they’re kind of in the trenches, and they’re, they’ve been trained and they go to seminars and everything they certifications, they know, kind of the ins and outs. But I’m curious, from a larger chamber perspective, how can they work together with some of those smaller chambers within their region, to really boost economic development as a whole?

Bill Sisson 24:11
I think one of the main ways that the to sort of be a regional approach with all the regional chambers involved would be in the tradeshow arena. You know, I’m a big believer in when you’re showcasing your community at say, like the Paris Air Show, for example, that you have a regional push. And that means involving the other economic development organizations in the region, maybe throughout the state, but certainly the chambers of commerce in that area, invite them to come along, be a part of the booth, be a part of the process because I think whenever you can show that your community is united, and that it will be sort of a one stop shop for the business if they really relocate to the area. It is a huge positive for the community. So that’s one, you know, easy way to, to have that regional push that’s so important in this in this business.

Brandon Burton 25:11
So talent attraction, workforce development, they’re hot topics in the chamber world economic development as well. So they’re very closely related to economic development. It’s kind of a chicken or an egg. Kind of a thing, though, as I see it, you either have the workforce to support that company, or you’re trying to attract the company, and then hope with the promise that you can deliver the workforce. How do you think a community goes about workforce and talent attraction?

Bill Sisson 25:43
I think really focusing on why people rooms, I think, is incredibly important these days to sort of like I was talking about with that mobile Connect program, to have similar programs that are geared towards college graduates or about to be college graduates to help them connect with businesses in the local community, if your community is fortunate enough to have a university, there should be a lot of effort and helping those students to stay in your community, and to end up with a job in your community. So programs to help make those connections to to help the businesses to connect with those seem to be graduates, it’s golden. And again, I see a lot of communities sort of forgetting to do that. And if you just rely on businesses to reach out to those local graduates, you’re probably going to be disappointed. As we all know, they will often complain that they can’t find our workforce, but they’re not necessarily going to have a an organized program for reaching out to the local university graduates. So that’s where the chamber can come in. And, I mean, we’re the best conveners out there. Right. And so that’s an example of convening and bringing together those, that that workforce with business in the local area.

Brandon Burton 27:10
And I think being that that convener, that facilitator of setting up some internships, you know, in a sophomore and junior year of a college student is so critical for them to see I can stay here I love, you know, going to school here, why wouldn’t I develop the built my my life here after graduation?

Bill Sisson 27:27
Exactly. And then, you know, of course, that same program can be used to attract college graduates from outside of the the region as well. So, if a chamber does not have such a program, they need to get to work on developing that kind of program. Because as it’s almost cliche to say, but the workforce today they move where they want to move. They’re not necessarily just moving to where you know, the industry is or the businesses, they’re gonna pick their location. So chambers may be involved in helping sell the community that hey, this is a great place to live, work and eventually raise a family brass?

Brandon Burton 28:08
Absolutely. Well, as we start to wrap things up here, I wanted to ask you, if you might have one tip or an action item for Chamber Champions listening that they might be able to do to lift their organization up to the next level.

Action Item/Tip for Chamber Champions

Bill Sisson 28:22
You know, plain and simple I, you know, if you’re not already involved in your state, chamber Association, I’m a big believer in ACCE. I’m also a big believer in education through podcasts, like like, like the you facilitate Brandon, those ways to continue to learn and to network. And I just look back on my career. And I think that where I grew the most and learned the most were in those associations where I can meet with people that were dealing with the same things that that I was dealing with. And maybe I could not make the mistake that they made. Maybe I could share a mistake that I made, you know, it’s just a great way to learn and to continue to grow. The other thing is, and I had a professor years ago, you know, because I’m an old guy now, but years ago, he said, one piece of advice is to not be tied down to a house or community too much. It’s very easy to be comfortable wherever you know, you’re located. But in many cases in the chamber of business, if you’re going to advance, you have to be willing to make some moves. Now, having said that, I completely respect if somebody wants to sort of stay in place while their kids are in those formative years and in middle and high school or, or whatever. But I think the willingness to move to advance the career, it’s not bad advice

Brandon Burton 29:57
at all. Yeah, and Add them may be a tough one for somebody to swallow you get so committed in your community to then uproot and start over at a new community that can be so well, I like asking everyone that I have on the show this question is, as we look to the future of chambers of commerce, how do you see the future of chambers and their purpose going forward?

Future of Chambers

Bill Sisson 30:23
I think that chambers must get more and more involved in entrepreneurial activity. And that has been a big change since I first got into this business. Now, I think, you know, the entrepreneurial side is overshadowing everything else. And I really like it because it enables a framework for so much more diversity, equity and inclusion than typical economic development. And, you know, it leads to the business community beginning to look more like the demographics of the community in which the chamber is located. What I mean by that is, you know, we started an incubator at the mobile chamber while I was there, we were fortunate to get an EDA grant. It has exceeded every expectation we had as it relates to diversity, equity inclusion in that over 60% of the businesses are either minority or women that have started up out of that out of that incubator. That’s more that’s more like that’s more like the true face of the community. So I see that certainly as the future. And I think that the convening role that I talked about earlier, that’s the future we will continue to be a great convener organization in any community, I’ve always joked that, you know, being in the chamber business ensures that your conservative friends will swear that that you know, the chamber and you are, you know, wildly liberal. And your liberal friends think that the chamber is all about corporate greed and such, right, yeah. So I guess that the the true testament of that is that we’re in the same middle, which, you know, that’s a very strong position to be in as far as being able to convene all parties and bring all parties to the table. So I hope that doesn’t change. But I think that will continue into the future.

Brandon Burton 32:24
Yeah. And I think that need is so much more right now, to be able to do that, that same middle, that same center to bring together both sides and say, Yeah, we are working towards a common goal here.

Bill Sisson 32:35
So absolutely,

Brandon Burton 32:36
yeah. I love your response about entrepreneurship. At the chamber, I’ve not heard that response and the tie to entrepreneurship and diversity, equity inclusion, I think that’s so spot on. And I see that I see that as, as you embrace the the entrepreneurs in your community, you’re gonna see more of that reflection of the demographic and your community. Absolutely,

Bill Sisson 33:00
I would just add one thing, bring it in. And that would be you know, you can’t recruit your way to mirroring the demographics of your community isn’t very difficult to do, but you can begin to develop it from within. And that’s the beauty of that entrepreneurial, you know, economic development.

Brandon Burton 33:18
I love that. Hopefully, everybody took a note of that and start putting together a plan. But, Bill, this has been great having you on the podcast, I wanted to give you a chance to share any contact information. I know you’ve you’ve recently retired, so you might be a little harder to find than you were in the past. So what would be the best way for listener to reach out and connect with you?

Connect with Bill Sisson

Bill Sisson 33:40
Yeah, I retired from the chamber business, so to speak. But I’ve started my own consulting company. And, you know, I’m gathering clients. As we speak, I will be doing international economic development, kind of I talked about earlier, helping businesses that are relocating to the United States to understand and easily assimilate into the community in which they’re located. So if anybody needs any help with that, certainly reach out to me. It’s williambsisson@gmail.com, William B. Sisson and Associates, I’m on LinkedIn. And I would love to connect and partner and do whatever that could come out of potential relationships with folks related to consulting. So I appreciate your allowing me to, to be with you today. And certainly to provide that contact information. Thank you, Brandon.

Brandon Burton 34:29
Absolutely. And we’ll get that contact information in our show notes as well. So if somebody’s walking the dog or driving in the car and can’t write it down, just go to the show notes, and you’ll find it in there. But Bill, this has been great, great discussion and appreciate you spending time with me today here on timbertech podcast providing great value to the listeners. This has been a wonderful discussion. So thanks a lot.

Bill Sisson 34:50
Thank you, Brandon. Thank you for what you do.

Brandon Burton 34:53
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Introduction

Brandon Burton 0:00
This is the Chamber Chat Podcast, the show dedicated to Chamber professionals to spark ideas and to get actionable tips and strategies to better serve your members and community.

Voiceover Talent – And now your host, he has never heard a Whopper or Big Mac. He’s my dad Brandon Burton.

Hello Chamber Champions. Welcome to the chamber tap podcast. I’m your host Brandon Burton, and it is my goal to introduce you to people and ideas to better help you serve your Chamber members and your community.

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Guest Introduction

You’re joining us today for episode 154 As I have windy Dan Chester join us today from One Southern Indiana or One SI. Wendy has been with One SI since November 2012. As President and CEO. She’s driven by a strong desire to implement change that would establish a stronger economic growth better educated and better paid workforce and structure of advocacy within the state of Indiana. One SI serves as the organization that speaks with one vision and one voice for Clark and Floyd counties. Its mission is to provide the connections resources and services that help businesses innovate and thrive in the region. Wendy came back to our home after serving as president of Cornerstone Alliance, a similar organization in southwest Michigan. Wendy’s role in leading the organization included serving as a trustee of the 530 acre Harbor Shores development and directing the 700 member Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce. Prior to removed in Michigan. She worked in various aspects of economic development for over seven years with the state of Indiana and spent the last year of her state government career as deputy Deputy Executive Director for program operations of the Indiana Department of Commerce. Wendy is a present or past member of several professional organizations including the International Economic Development Council and Economic Development Association in both Indiana and Michigan. She currently serves as legislative committee chair and past Chair for the Indiana Economic Development Association. Wendy was named one of North America’s top 50 economic developers in 2015 by consultant connect the Indiana Economic Development Association awarded her the Economic Development Professional of the next half century in June of 2018. And in 2016, her Indiana peers named her the Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year, she was awarded the 2000 Outstanding Young Hoosier award from the Indiana Jaycees was recognized in the Annapolis Business Journal’s 40 under 40 for 2004 and was honored by Western Michigan’s business reviews business leaders under 40. In 2021, southern Indiana was named chamber the year by the Indiana chamber Executives Association and honor that her team was most deserving of due to their aggressive actions and to help businesses during the COVID 19 pandemic and resulting recession. Wendy is a native of Jeffersonville and she received her Bachelors of Science in Business Management from Indiana University southeast in 1991. She and her daughter Jocelyn reside in Jeffersonville. Wendy, I’m excited to have you with me today here on Chamber Chat Podcast if you would just take a moment to say hello to all the chamber champions that are out there listening and I’d like to have you share something interesting just so we can get to know you a little bit better.

Something Interesting About Wendy

Wendy Dant Chesser 4:30
Well, thank you, Brandon. I appreciate the opportunity. It was a it’s a great opportunity to work in this industry. And one southern Indiana is a chamber that was emerged organization starting in 2006. I came back in 2012 to serve as president. I’m the third president of the organization and the dirty little secret is this is actually the third time that I applied to be president. So if Third time’s a charm It was really seen as an opportunity for me to come home and do what I love to do in the communities that helped raise me.

Brandon Burton 5:07
That’s awesome. I like that it’s kind of unique to be able to serve in the chamber where where you’re from. So that is awesome. Well share with us a little bit about one southern Indiana just so we can get a better idea of kind of the size staff to kind of the perspective that you’re coming from, as we entered our discussion today.

About the One Southern Indiana

Wendy Dant Chesser 5:32
So let me start with the geography. So the geography of the area is that we are part of the Louisville, Kentucky, MSA. So we’re truly a two state area, the only thing that separates us with our neighbors to the south is the mighty Ohio River. So if we look at the the area as a whole, we have about a 1.3 million population MSA, our piece of it the carved out piece for our southern indie or for the one southern Indiana area is basically Clark and Floyd counties, which are the two most populous counties on the Indiana side of the Ohio River, we have about 200,000 people in those two counties. So our chamber really does operate in conjunction with others as a Regional Chamber addressing regional issues. We have about 1025 business members today, we were up to about 1100 pre pandemic, but things happened and we are now slowly growing that, that that membership back, and we have really have dug in and said, you know, this is the role that we have to play, we’re not necessarily going to be the best at some things in our regions. But we know that the businesses that that are looking for assistance either through manufacturing through some of the small businesses, of course, hospitality businesses and some of the innovative businesses, we’ve been able to establish a presence with them and to continue to provide some assistance to them in terms of the business membership.

Brandon Burton 7:05
Very good. So that does help to give us an idea of where you’re coming from and kind of crossing over into Kentucky, someone with the membership and responsibilities there. As we get into our topic for discussion today. So the term that we all became very familiar with during the pandemic was these are unprecedented times. Right? So our topic for this discussion is going to be unprecedented opportunity Spoken like a true economic development professional, specifically in southern Indiana. And it’s my understanding that some of these opportunities sprouted as a result of the pandemic. So looking forward to getting that perspective and having you share those things it says we get back from this quick break.

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Topic-Unprecedented Opportunity in Southern Indiana

Alright, Wendy, we are back. Let’s have you share with us what some of these unprecedented opportunities are that kind of sprouted out of the the COVID 19 pandemic that maybe wouldn’t have been there initially. But because it’s you know, the pandemic happened and our worldview and everything kind of shifted. What’s resulted in southern Indiana out of that?

Wendy Dant Chesser 9:37
Well, one of the things I’m excited about and you mentioned this before break, we are also the local economic development organization for two of our counties and we have a third county under contract. One of the reasons that that I can be very optimistic about our economic future is that we have seen record interest in this is wanting to either locate or expand in our area. And don’t take that for granted. But I do recognize that we have decades of investment that has put us in this place. The states of Indiana and Kentucky have in the last five years, built not one, but two bridges across the Ohio River to truly connect our greater region. We have a 6000 acre industrial park that was formerly an Army Ammunition site that is really reached its peak in being able to provide one stop shopping for companies that are looking to locate and we’re seeing right now about 15,000 employees working there per day, but there’s a lot of room for growth. It’s about 15% occupied. So we know that there’s growth opportunities there as well. And we believe that Indiana’s stable business climate is helping us attract companies to the area. I don’t want to the short side, our neighbors to the south. Oh, wow. Well, you know, when we do economic development in southern Indiana, we often are best known for a city we’re not in a state we’re not a part of. That’s the challenge of being across the river from a metro area like Louisville, Kentucky. But we also have the advantage of taking advantage of the many investments that they make. They have an international airport UPS has its world, its Worldport distribution system in Louisville, we take advantage of that every day, then on the quality of place aspects. It’s a city, it’s got a lot of activities, it’s got professional, it’s got semi professional sports, it’s got a horse racing, it has a beautiful zoo, we can take advantage and sell all of those assets, while we’re growing the southern Indiana economy. And in addition, we’re working on those quality of place and those assets that give us an additional regional asset to share with our neighbors as well. So I’m really excited that we’re starting to see this this economic growth. A lot of interest in economic growth coming to our area. But it’s not just because we’ve got a new brochure, a new website is decades of investment to make our area attractive. And when you have a good product to sell at a time when people are in the buying mode, which they are, we are we are seeing some wonderful numbers in interest from prospects coming to our area, I believe, August of 2021, we had more interested projects tagged than at any time since our existence in 2006. So something’s worked in we’re trying to maximize it. But it also comes with, of course, with challenges and being able to make sure we’re good stewards of where we are in this place in time.

Brandon Burton 12:46
And like being able to leverage the greater area, you know, geography, like you mentioned, to be able to tap into to Louisville what they have to offer. And I mean, really a big development in Louisville was a big win for you guys to to be able to continue to leverage your communities, your counties that you’re representing, as you know, like these resources that are right here, and you don’t need to be in the mix of it all. But we’re, you know, the there’s different ways that you can kind of play that. But I like that. So what about some of these initiatives that have come out post COVID? Or through COVID? That you guys have implemented, that you can kind of touch on for us? Well, let

Wendy Dant Chesser 13:28
me let me talk about three of them primarily. The first is, we have recognized that, that when it’s most, most communities did, the businesses impacted by COVID, size of business really does matter. And so some of our small businesses suffered the most. And this is an opportunity for us, our board of directors had to retreat back in March and said, We want to be able to help those small businesses, those that are already there for those that are growing. So in partnership with the Indiana small business development centers, we have now a shared staff position. That is what we call our small business navigator gives us a someone who’s focused on small business and specific needs that they have, whether it’s technical assistance, whether it’s accounting assistance, whether it’s how access to capital in general, and helping them determine their best best path forward. There are a lot of resources for small businesses, but if you don’t have them all packaged and put together at the in the place where a small business needs them, including potentially some funding sources to keep them moving, then then then we’re not really doing them a good service. So we’re excited about what our small business services initiative is offering. The second is new to us and long, long overdue and that is our diversity, equity and inclusion activities. As an organization, we had not addressed DNI In any of the work that we were doing, the events of 2020 changed our perspective on that, and was quite frankly, a wake up call that that was necessary. And our board of directors took it seriously and incorporated DNI not only as a standing committee within the organization, that they incorporated DNI goals into all of our bylaws, responsibilities, really to make sure that it’s embedded in the fabric of who we are going forward. So our spending and hiring practices internally, how we help companies and promotion opportunities, those are those small things that we’re getting underway and excited to be saying, it’s finally time that we’re doing something in this area, which is long overdue. The third area, and this is the one I saved this for last, this is really as a result of the Indiana General Assembly working with the governor and putting together an initiative that’s going to help communities and regions focus on what their needs, their long term needs are going to be if it weren’t for the Recovery Act funds and things coming into the state and local governments, I’m not sure that this initiative would have occurred. But what is called the regional economic acceleration and Development Initiative, or ready for short, the state put $500 million into a pot and are asking regions around the state to compete for these funds to help leverage private investment to build out quality of place projects. So stop for a second think about where quality of place project may be. Whether it’s a developing an industrial park, which we’ve talked a little bit about weather is increased taking an area of 600 acres right in the middle of our waterfront area and creating a park inviting people in to not only understand the habitat that’s there, but also to also park called it’s called origin Park, that adjusts to the climate change issues when you’re on a river flooding as a part of your date of your annual the annual seasons that you go through. So we’re working on that. But how do we look into some of the more rural areas of our five county region and do things that will benefit them through a youth sports complex through helping one of our historic downtown’s become more of a destination for music goers gives us the opportunity to dream a little bit, but then to set put our priorities together in a five county region and tell the state we need your help to leverage these funds that are sitting on the sidelines, we know that population growth is one of their goals. There’s a lot of folks looking at our area and interested in our area, how do we now tap into those dollars that the state’s made available in a very competitive way, mind you to try to make sure that we’re doing the best we can in 2021 2223. So that all of these dollars that are being spent to help us recover are truly investments that our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren are going to benefit from. So those are the that’s what I’m really most excited about. We’ll have a decision on whether or not we were competitive enough by the end of this calendar year. But I tell all of our regional folks, every time I get the chance, even if we don’t get the full prize that we’re going after we’re in a better shape now than we were before. Because we’re working together, we’re supporting each other’s projects, and programs in trying to make sure that our quality of places stretches beyond our initial or our jurisdictional boundaries into a broader region.

Brandon Burton 18:49
Absolutely. So I love how you’ve identified these opportunities in your community. And I’d like for listeners that are, you know, tuned in right now to think about what opportunities are available in your community. And it might not look exactly like Southern Indiana. But would it make sense to have small business surpluses? Maybe probably, and those are the businesses that need a lot of the help. And it’s kind of that paradox. Sometimes they’re the members that can’t afford to buy the the higher level investment with the chamber, but they need the most help. They need the most assistance. So maybe having a focused effort on that. And I think integrating more the DEA and I you know, like you said integrating that into your bylaws and having more of a concerted effort on making sure that certain segments of the community are being included and that you’re reaching out and thinking about who’s who’s not here, who are we missing? And I think that’s something that every community and I think a lot of chambers are doing a good job at that looking at the DNI but these are your you’re seeing these as opportunities. And I love I love that vantage point instead of, you know, it’s one more thing that we need to take on, it’s one more thing to do. But you’re serving. So

Wendy Dant Chesser 20:11
we are serving it and and we have a team of professionals that work their butts off back during COVID. And so they were they’re tired, but boy does this give us all new energy. The the internal statement is, yes, we’re doing all of these new things, in addition to those things we were already doing. So it’s more we are adding a few new team members. But at the same time, we recognize that if we want to be relevant as an organization going forward, that it’s imperative that we take, we take a real good look at what is going on what’s needed, and what’s going to make our region competitive and our individual businesses. Again, we tell them all the time, because we have both of these roles. We’re a chamber of commerce, but we’re also an economic development entity, the Chamber side helps them go out and get a bigger piece of the pie. And we want that we want to be that and help them. But at the same time, we owe it to them. And everybody else can take a bigger pie so that there’s more for us to go after. So that the only thing I can do in the kitchen is talk about this and

the to do go hand in glove. And when we look at regional opportunities, we all we know that that there’s not a moat around in any of our communities that keeps people from going back and forth, and all that all that neighboring does is offer you and your businesses more opportunities to grow.

Brandon Burton 21:39
And I like that as looking at opportunity like like your analogy of baking the bigger pie. I mean, there’s definitely some opportunities where as a chamber, you need to look at new programming, for example, and say, how do we monetize this? How do we make it worthwhile? How do we do this. And then other things that you you do chamber work wise, is it’s really baking that bigger pie, that’s going to show the value of the chamber, you might not have that direct return on investment, you’re not collecting revenue necessarily for that program or for the focus and attention you’re putting into it. But it’s baking that bigger pie, it’s strengthening your business community, it’s proving your value to your members. And there’s a whole lot of value in doing that as well. So kind of two different ways of looking at the opportunities that are provided.

Wendy Dant Chesser 22:27
That’s the what we have going forward in the unknown, but we can look back and see how some of the work that was done. Pacific example 11 911 or 12 years ago, before I joined organization, we started a robust Business Retention and Expansion program where we would go out into businesses and specifically manufacturers. And the reason is, is that in Indiana, in our part of Indiana, manufacturing is still one of the most strongest sectors for us. About 20% of our payroll in our counties comes from manufacturing, not necessarily 20% of the jobs 20% of the payrolls, so it’s incredibly significant to us. So maybe 11 or 12 years ago, the organization started a Business Retention and Expansion program where they went out to manufacturers and they basically asked simple questions, how’s business? Do you have any opportunities to grow your business? And what are those impediments to doing more business for you? And the answers to those questions became our work plan came up became the strategy. So that that started and because of that, we identified that manufacturers had a lot of common needs, depending on regardless of what they were making. So we started a new membership category called the Metro manufacturers Alliance. And it started with eight manufacturers and has since now grown to about a we’re just under 80. So significant growth is really the most regional of our programs, about almost 50% of them are of the manufacturers are from Kentucky work the other 50% are Indiana, recognizing it’s a it’s an area for us to sell. And the biggest thing that we offer them a round table so your CEOs can get together in a facilitated roundtable environment. I call them support groups when sometimes they don’t like that, but that’s what it is. Doesn’t stop at the CEO that goes to the HR directors, it goes to the procurement folks right now, the busiest one is supply chain because supply chain issues are so critical. So it gives manufacturers at different levels of the organization peers to discuss these, truly. These these truly big issues that are either going to make or break where they are could make or break the workforce supply chain all of the things that we hear over and over again, that we may not have a solution for within the walls of our organization. We can pull together Are those like minded individuals who are looking for solutions, and then they can help come in that we can facilitate that process. So I, it’s a great, I look back on what my predecessors put into place to help us get to where we are today. And honestly, I feel very strongly we have an obligation to pay it forward, that making sure that those areas that we have to work on for the next 10 or 15 years are going to that we get out that all started today.

Brandon Burton 25:29
Yeah, I can see incredible value in those roundtables. Do you have any trouble getting participation on those or kind of hit or miss

Wendy Dant Chesser 25:38
is hit or miss. And I would say that they like any other initiative. If a company is going to get the most out of it, it comes from the top. So those CEOs that are most engaged are the ones whose team typically see more value in the in the programming that is created. And each of them has a facilitator that not staff, but an outside facilitator that can help guide the conversation, look for new ideas. When we went to zoom, obviously, we saw more participation, because at the time people were but we’re hungry for a interaction and be more information. Now that we’re back more live in person events. It’s everybody’s busy. So we’re trying to find ways to keep that enthusiasm going.

Brandon Burton 26:23
Yeah, that’s great. It’s like a giant mastermind group, you have people in the similar roles at different companies to be able to see what’s working for them and share ideas. I love it.

Wendy Dant Chesser 26:36
Just like we’re doing here, because when chamber, chamber folks can share and learn from one another. When I somebody gave me a great quote at one time, I don’t know if he made it up or not. But he said, If I ever take my candle and I light your candle, mine doesn’t become any less dim. We’re all brighter because of it. And I think that’s the that really resonates with me.

Brandon Burton 26:57
Yeah, I love that. Well, as we start to wrap up here, I wanted to ask you, if you have any tip or strategy or a piece of advice, maybe that you would share for listeners that they might be able to implement it their chamber to help take them up to the next level.

Action Item/Tip for Chamber Champions

Wendy Dant Chesser 27:16
I don’t really have any specific program advice that I’d like to talk about when a little bit along with the theme of this when a new initiative is started is what we’ve found out what worked best for us, when when we strategize about it, we don’t have to have all the answers. And the harder thing is we don’t have to have all the funding. Because if you get a good idea started and it starts to snowball, it gets a little bit bigger, it gets a little more if it shows more results. The funding, I would say always comes with a lot of times it does it as the funding will follow. So we’re not we’re I’m not overly I’m not an overly risk averse person. But in this role, sometimes you’re expected to be you know, to look before you leave, and we do but we also recognize that sometimes you have to do the right thing and you have to move in a direction because the time is now and then give the opportunity for the rest of it to catch up with you. So it’s not it’s not a renegade or derelict kind of approach. But it’s the reality that sometimes people have to see something happening before they will totally embrace it. Sort of the Henry Ford quote, you know, if he had asked his customers what they’ve wanted, they would have wanted a faster horse. When he was interested in making faster horses, he was interested in giving them something new. And look at where we are today. And that I think that analogy sticks true with a lot of what what a chamber organization does as well.

Brandon Burton 28:51
To your point the other day I had heard the the same that procraft Another word for procrastinator is perfectionist that people will hide behind the idea of being a perfectionist just to delay putting that thing out or you know, and like you’re saying you don’t need all the answers or the funding, just get moving and the pieces will come together. And it’s a failed initiative

Wendy Dant Chesser 29:15
in the chamber world is not necessarily a failure that a mark against your permanent record. It’s a learning experience. And as we see businesses do that all the time, try something new and learn from it. I think in the chamber role we can we can learn from that same philosophy.

Brandon Burton 29:32
Yeah, absolutely. But as we look to the future of chambers, how do you see the future of chambers and their purpose going forward?

Future of Chambers

Wendy Dant Chesser 29:41
That our team has really looked at the AC e ACPE. Horizon Report. And those areas identified such as people will join in and engage in initiatives that they’re passionate about. The days of joining a chamber because it’s the right thing to do. Because your grandma, your father did it with his business, not there anymore. So we have to find ways of consistently making ourselves relevant. It spreads us maybe a little more thin than Lee, because because people find relevance in different things, whether it’s our young professionals group or sales and marketing group, they’ll find relevant in different categories. But as long as we’re nimble and are working to meet their needs to keep them engaged, we feel very strong, and they’ll continue to support us. So the future, the future for us is to continue to be continued to being open to those new ideas, those new initiatives to see if we can pull people together and help them collectively, while making sure that our organization is strong.

Brandon Burton 30:51
I love it. Well, I appreciate you spending time with us today here on Chamber Chat Podcast, sharing some of the great opportunities there in southern Indiana, but also helping the Chamber’s listening to maybe better see the opportunities that are in their own communities. I wanted to give you an opportunity to share any contact information for anyone listening who’d like to reach out and connect and maybe learn how you’re doing some things they’re in southern Indiana, what would be the best way for them to reach out and connect with you?

Connect with Wendy Dant Chesser

Wendy Dant Chesser 31:23
Well, I think our website is probably best it’s a portion of it or still are under reconstruction. So but it’s the information is still that is on there still accurate, it may just not be complete. That email, the website address is 1si.org. So that’s 1si.org and that’s where we try to at least get people in doesn’t have all of the information that but we have a wonderful team that can supplement any of those questions that come from it.

Brandon Burton 31:58
Very good. And I’ll make sure that’s in our show notes for this episode, which will be found at chamberchatpodcast.com/episode 154. But again, Wendy, it’s been a pleasure visiting with you and having you on the show. Thank you for taking the time to be with us today.

Wendy Dant Chesser 32:14
Thank you, Brandon, and I appreciate it very much.

Brandon Burton 32:17
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Izzy West 32:49
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