West Plains Chamber hears GSI's 2015 report card

The monthly meeting of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce held Oct. 8 received a report card on the general health of business in the area with a look back at the past and a peek into the future from Steve Stevens, the president and CEO of Greater Spokane Incorporated.

Having served 15 months on the job since his hiring July 1, 2014 from a similar post with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Stevens told the gathering at the Shriner's Event Center, 7217 W Westbow Blvd in Spokane, of this having been a productive first year for him in the organization.

GSI is the regional chamber of commerce whose charge is to help grow business - both big and small - in the area. "By and large I think we've been able to accomplish some pretty good things," Stevens said.

The work GSI has done has been accomplished because of collaboration and partnerships." Together we can achieve much more than we can alone," he said.

Stevens spoke of the most notable wins which came from the recently competed legislative session, termed one of the most successful in this region, We got one of the biggest legislative packages in history," Stevens said.

All added together $1.7 billion in transportation infrastructure funding, plus money for secondary and post secondary education came out of the multiple sessions in Olympia. Notable on the education front was a new medical school operated by Washington State University.

"These investments are important job creators here," Stevens said. "The effects will have lasting effects on the community for decades."

Of specific interest to the West Plains, but important to the region as a whole, were monies received to purchase properties in the APZ zone at Fairchild Air Force Base, hopefully keeping it a viable partner in the future.

New business found its way to the area, too, Stevens reported.

"For the year we have 10 wins, companies that were attracted or expanded in a big way," Stevens said. Those businesses created over 1,000 new jobs. With jobs comes an increased tax base and "That's how the economy churns," Stevens said. Those new businesses will add just under $2 million in new tax revenues.

As for the future, Stevens outlined what he called "The Big 6" list of projects.

No. 1 is to have a continued focus on development of bio-science and medical education. "It's huge," he said.

Military defense and the "Fairchild Mission" was the second priority in the list. "That's going to remain one of our top planks, always," Stevens said.

The third item was further developing the aerospace segment of the job market, an area Stevens called, "A sweet spot in our economy." There are currently over 100 aerospace companies in the area today, Stevens said. "We know there are still more opportunities."

Stevens said educational attainment is another part of GSI's effort to grow the economy in 2016.

An estimated 74,000 people locally have some piece of post-secondary education, but not a degree or certificate that helps them advance in their careers.

"We want them to complete something so in fact they can get a higher paying job," Stevens said.

Infrastructure readiness and business climate issues is No. 5 on the list and that will move forward with further discussion of forming a port district.

And finally there is the matter of better collaboration with various parts of the community to make sure the wins don't suddenly become losses.

"We have people breathing down our neck every day trying to take our companies from us," Stevens said. "We don't want that but we have to do things differently to prevent that from happening."

Stevens also spent a significant amount of time discussing Spokane City Proposition 1, the Community Bill of Rights, which he urged those in attendance study carefully.

"Even though you are out here on the West Plains, employers outside the city (of Spokane) will be affected," Stevens said. "I'm not telling you how to vote, I'm just telling you get educated on this."

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].