As the 2020-2021 fiscal year ends, the Greater Phoenix Chamber is celebrating a year of achievements featured in our upcoming Annual Report and Annual Meeting. While the past year has brought unprecedented challenges, I am proud to report the Chamber saw growth and innovation that allowed us to offer new opportunities for our members. I encourage you to join the Chamber on June 3rd for our 2021 Annual Meeting to hear from top leaders who are new to the Valley and learn about the achievements from the past year that will provide additional resources for your business. Some highlights of the past fiscal year include:
Successful Legislative Session
While Session continues with more victories to come, the Chamber fervently fought for Senate Bill 1377 (SB1377), which protects businesses and organizations from undue litigation as a result of the pandemic, pass in the Arizona State Senate on February 24th.
New Economic Development Resources
In August, the Chamber launched the Arizona Economic Dashboard (the Dashboard), a tool developed to collect meaningful economic data signaling Arizona’s progress through economic recovery and beyond. In October, we partnered with OH Predictive to launch the Arizona Business Index, a statewide consumer confidence index providing an accurate pulse on key indicators that drive the economy and expert insight into consumer confidence to aid in decision making.
New Workforce Collaboratives
The Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation’s workforce efforts have grown, expanding to six employer-led workforce collaboratives with recent additions in Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology (IT). These groups are developing new ways to promote career awareness prepare our state’s workforce for the future in these high-growth industries.
GPC Diversity & Inclusion Program
This Spring, the Chamber launched a Diversity and Inclusion Employer Program with the assistance of some of our state’s top experts. This program supports Chamber members and the community at large in implementing and expanding diversity and inclusion efforts for Phoenix businesses.
ElevateEdAZ CommunityShare & Externship Launch
The Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation’s education initiative, ElevateEdAZ, recently adopted and launched the CommunityShare platform to connect business professionals with partner schools to provide real-world learning experiences for students. In addition, ElevateEdAZ is leveraging partnerships with local organizations to host Virtual Educator Externships, providing educators across Arizona with direct experiences to learn from industry professionals, ultimately impacting over 10,000 students across our state.
It’s gratifying to see the work we’ve accomplished in a year of many changes and uncertainty, and we have no plans to slow down our commitment to growing Arizona’s economy and supporting our members. But as Heraclitus said, “The only constant is change”, and there is more change and growth on the horizon for the Chamber. I invite you to attend our Annual Meeting on June 3rd, where we will announce new board leadership, hear from some of our state’s newest and most innovative leaders, and share exciting updates on what you can expect from your Chamber in the coming year.
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