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John Urbahns, President & CEO of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. joins us for this episode in our 2021 ACCE Chamber of the Year Finalist Series.
John is a return guest as he was on the podcast last year in episode 79 as a Chamber of the Year Finalist which makes this 2 years in a row for GFW, Inc.!
In our discussion, John shares details about the two program synopsis that were submitted with their Chamber of the Year application.
The first program that John shared is about was GFW, Inc.’s response to the COVID pandemic. They introduced what was coined a Roadmap to Healthy Re-Open. This program included 17 industry specific webinars geared towards ideas and protocols for businesses to reopen safely.
The second program that John discussed was their Bridge Program. This program is a 5 year commitment from corporations who sponsor an entrepreneur in their community. These corporations sponsor the entrepreneur’s membership and programming and offer mentorship. They had over 40 entrepreneurs apply to be paired with the 25 corporate sponsors. All but 1 of the corporate sponsors got their first choice of their entrepreneur. For their next round, they are adding 10 more corporate sponsors and entrepreneurs with a focus on minority entrepreneurs.
John suggests that a Chamber needs to have a vision for their community. He believes that a Chamber needs to understand their lane (leadership vs. support). This past year has also confirmed John’s belief that a Chamber needs to be adaptable and nimble.
If you would like to connect with John about anything he discussed in this episode you can see his contact information below:
- jurbahns@greaterfortwayneinc.com
- gfwinc.com
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