If you missed the news, two major expansions for Michigan companies announced their site locations.  Michigan lost.

The first expansion involved Michigan losing out on Ford’s $11.4 billion Electric Vehicle investment as well as the creation of 11,000 jobs.  It went to two states: Tennessee and Kentucky. 

If the sting of that loss wasn’t enough to open our eyes to the need for a comprehensive economic development strategy, we learned that another deal for expansion by Leprino Foods of Remus; the largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese is going to Lubbock, Texas and it meant losing out on $870 million in investment and 600 jobs. The company had ample room to put the expansion in Michigan, but the state’s economic development tools didn’t even come close to competing.

The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce and Saginaw Future Inc., have a long history of working together, supporting each other’s efforts to help make Saginaw County and this Great Lakes Bay Region economically healthy.

Over the past 19 months, the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with Saginaw Future Inc., to assist in getting valuable information and resources to our business community to help them through the pandemic shutdown of 2020 and early 2021.
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During that time, we assisted with distribution of grants through the federal and state government, as well as generous contributions from Dow and Consumers Energy.

And now the work continues with the recent announcement of federal dollars to come to the City and County of Saginaw through the American Rescue Plan.

Short-term rentals are a recent phenomenon across Michigan and serve a purpose for travelers and tourism.  And while they can fill a gap in communities where there aren’t enough hotel rooms, not every community should allow short-term rentals.
 
Recently, in Saginaw, a homeowner, claiming to be using her property as a short-term rental, allowed a house party.  Reports that nearly 100 people were inside, with another 100 outside.  Shots rang out injuring four and murdering one 29-year old.

The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce joined a coalition of 113 chambers of commerce in 46 states to deliver a letter to U.S. House and Senate leadership asking that $18 billion be allocated within the forthcoming infrastructure recovery bills specifically to support creative economic recovery. The businesses represented by these chambers collectively serve over 33 million Americans. 

Spearheaded by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, and Americans for the Arts, the letter asserts that dedicated recovery funds for the creative economy are essential to getting local small businesses and economies back on their feet. The letter was built on two previous letters of support (May 2020, August 2020) for relief and recovery efforts to help the arts, culture, and the creative sector. 

The news is filled with stories about efforts to shut down Line 5. People in our region may think the issue only matters up north but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Line 5 matters to Saginaw County and that’s why the Saginaw County Chamber strongly backs Line 5’s continued operation and supports construction of the Great Lakes Tunnel. To advocate for this important issue in our region, we have joined a diverse, bipartisan coalition called Great Lakes Michigan Jobs, working to build the Great Lakes Tunnel.
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We rely on Line 5 in Saginaw County every day. Line 5 is responsible for fueling our local communities by powering the manufacturing sector, the chemistry industry and equipment that farmers use that is essential to getting food to our kitchen tables. The pipeline also provides more than half of the propane used across the state, not just in the Upper Peninsula. 

​The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce recently joined the Chamber Federation with the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Grand Rapids, Lansing Regional, Birmingham Bloomfield, Traverse Connect, Battle Creek, and Southern Wayne County Regional Chambers of Commerce to advocate allowing local business offices to reopen safely.

We are excited to be a part of the Reopen Michigan Safely coalition with our fellow chambers of commerce. 

While the public has been very focused on the state COVID-19 health orders which impact the economy, we think it is very important to also bring the issue of the MIOSHA emergency orders to light, as well.   

​The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce is a member of the Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition which is a collective of chambers of commerce across the Great Lakes region that jointly advocate on core policy issues, including water quality, immigration reform, trade, and transportation and infrastructure. Since its founding in 2008, the coalition has become a leading and effective voice on federal policy impacting the Great Lakes region. Fellow coalition member Olivia Ortega, Director of Advocacy for the Greater Cleveland Partnership put together some insights and forecasts for some of the legislative actions likely to take place in the new year. We’d like to share those insights with our members as an aid to planning for the new year.

Recent mass protests across the country over the brutal killing of George Floyd demonstrate the need for meaningful, truthful conversations as well as honest examinations of existing laws, systems, procedures, and processes throughout all aspects of our community including business, government, and social services. We support citizens exercising their 1st amendment rights in America to peacefully protest to achieve these needed conversations and urge participants to remain peaceful. Rioting does nothing to advance justice and serves only to increase fear and chaos which are the enemies of honest communication.

The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce is a leading organization in this community with a long, rich history of supporting partnerships, collaboration, and bringing diverse groups together to foster an exceptional Saginaw.

We support and advocate equality for everyone, everywhere in Saginaw County which should be a place where all are welcomed and treated with dignity and respect. If we don’t all succeed, we leave people behind, and that is unacceptable.