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Did you know that making upgrades to your community’s environment can improve the health outcomes of your community? Your chamber or community may have added sidewalks, created pedestrian-only downtown spaces or host a local farmer’s market every weekend. Placemaking has traditionally been seen as an economic development strategy, but it also can be a community health strategy. No matter how your chamber implements placemaking, one thing is for sure; it makes your community the place to be.

The Billings Chamber (Mont.) is intentional about using placemaking as an avenue for better health outcomes in the community. Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Reiser CCE, IOM says, “Healthy placemaking means making the healthy choice the easy choice by being intentional about considering health when developing policies and systems.”

The Billings Chamber put this into action through their Trails Initiative. The chamber led the task force that increased and connected trails in the community. Billings went from having 15 miles of trails to 40 miles. Jennifer shares, “By including opportunities for physical activity and movement, we can also increase opportunities for social connectedness, thus affecting both the physical and mental health of our employees. We are encouraging our employers to use healthy placemaking as a tool for employee engagement and workforce development.”

If you are interested in learning more about healthy placemaking, the Inclusive Healthy Placemaking Report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a helpful place to start. Below is a summary table from the Inclusive Healthy Placemaking Report on how to incorporate healthy placemaking in your community. 

Public SpaceNeighborhood City Regional/National 

Do you have healthy placemaking stories to share? We would love to hear from you. Email Emily Counts (ecounts@acce.org) to let us know what you are doing.

Tags: Community Health, Economic Development

Emerging Leaders Shaping the Chamber Industry

ACCE is dedicated to recognizing and supporting the most talented professionals in the chamber industry. This new annual recognition program showcases 40 of the industry's best emerging leaders who have demonstrated success in their careers and made significant contributions in the communities they serve. The list includes CEOs and staff professionals from a wide variety of roles and chamber sizes. Their creativity, dedication and commitment to identifying innovative solutions will help shape the future of the chamber profession.

Learn more about this year's class and what their nominator had to say as part of the Summer 2019 edition of the Chamber Executive magazine.

2019 Education and Talent Development Fellows

Abby Osborne, Salt Lake Chamber

Alesha Washington, Greater Cleveland Partnership

Alisha Benson, IOM, Greater Spokane Inc.

Allen Smith, CCE, Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce

Allison B. Walden, CFRE, IOM, Tulsa Regional Chamber

Amber Mooney, The Business Council of New York State, Inc.

Andy Johnston, IOM, Grand Rapids Chamber

Beth A. Bowman, CCE, IOM, Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce

Celia Richa, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

Christie Rogers, CMP, NKY Chamber

Corey Atkins, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce

David Pruente, IOM, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce

Ellen Cutter, Greater Fort Wayne Inc.

Erin Aylor, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce

Erin Erkins, Boise Metro Chamber

Heather Valudes, Lancaster Chamber

James Reddish, CEcD, Little Rock Regional Chamber

Jessica Verderame, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce

Jessica Welch, IOM, Greater Irvine Chamber

Joe Murphy, Greater Des Moines Partnership

Jonathan Long, Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce

Joshua Gunn, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce

Juliet Abdel, IOM, Westminster Chamber of Commerce

Kate Bates, Arlington Chamber of Commerce

Kate Lufkin, Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

Kelle Marsalis, CCE, IOM, Plano Chamber of Commerce

Kristin Craig, Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce

LaKendria Robinson, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce

Lindsay Henderson, Conway Area Chamber of Commerce

Lindsay M. Keisler, IOM, CCEC, Catawba County Chamber of Commerce

Lisa Hermes, CCE, IOM, McKinney Chamber of Commerce

Mark Fisher, Indy Chamber

Paul Rumler, Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce

Sara Swisher, IOM, Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce

Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, Greater Louisville Inc.

Sarah Moylan, Greater Omaha Chamber

Savannah Whitehead, Edmond Chamber of Commerce

Sherry Taylor, Mason Deerfield Chamber

Simone Thornton-Salley, IOM, Berkeley Chamber of Commerce

Tim Giuliani, CCE, Orlando Economic Partnership 

 Applications for the next class of 40 Under 40 will be available in March of 2020 here.

Rockport-Fulton is rising with a positive and quick recovery after Hurricane Harvey’s eye hovered over that community for more than 13-hours just 20 months ago. Employers of the Rockport-Fulton needed workers to fill positions in their community.

For the summer 2019, the Chamber ran a campaign called Build Your Resume at the Beach. Using their website, social media and other collateral, the Chamber encouraged job-seekers to apply for summer jobs on the coast. Job types include hotel staff, waiters, waitresses, breakfast clerks, cooks, general managers, massage therapists, landscapers, etc. A full chart of available jobs can be accessed through the link above.

“We are recovering at an impressive pace and are having a great summer. Our employers need to bring on more staff. We are encouraging anyone interested in summer jobs on the coast to get in touch with our employers,” said Diane Probst, President/CEO of the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce. 

The Chamber thought this campaign would be attractive to young adults wanting to build their resume while still enjoying a great summer locale. Rockport-Fulton is surrounded by water on three sides, there is a mile-long beach, tons of outdoor recreation and lots of opportunities. In a tight labor market, finding new ways to sell your location to potential employees is important.

The Chamber provided both job listings and a listing of available housing on its campaign webpage. Interested candidates could then reach out directly to employers to set up interviews. Once they secured a job, they were able to easily find a place to stay for the summer. “It’s a great way to get some experience and help our employers get some relief at the same time,” said Probst.

For more information, visit Rockport-Fulton.org or call 1-800-242-0071 or 361-729-6445. 

About the Chamber

The Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce is a 5-star Chamber as recognized by the US Chamber of Commerce. The mission is to work in partnership with businesses, individuals and governmental entities to promote commerce and tourism while maintaining the environment. The Chamber works very closely with small businesses. It is PLANE-ly focused on promotion, leadership, advocacy, networking and the economy.

Tags: #Talent, Careers, Talent Attraction and Retention