From WCTV.tv
The Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce held its annual breakfast Wednesday morning, kicking off the new fiscal year.
The chamber introduced its new board chair and took a look back at 2021.
Chamber leaders emphasized their mission is to encourage job creation, and they’re focused on bringing the business community together with elected officials.
They discussed highlights of the last year, including the classroom connection program and a focus on advocacy.
President and CEO Sue Dick and new Chamber Board Chair Sammie Dixon, the Vice Chairman, President, and CEO of Prime Meridian Bank, spoke about the community scorecard, which is updated monthly.
The scorecard looks at job creation, GDP and crime rates, but also looks at metrics tracking education, from kindergarten readiness to the graduation rate.
Both kindergarten readiness and graduation rates are improving, but third grade reading scores have declined recently.
“Folks, that says it all on where we’re going. I know the Sheriff and Chief Revell at times are looking at capacity for jails; you look at third-grade reading scores. It tells the whole story,” Dixon said.
The chamber also highlighted multiple growing programs, like Access Tallahassee, targeting young professionals and retaining talent. Leadership Tallahassee and its partnership with Leon County Schools was also a topic of discussion.
The new chamber chair also added that a major focus for the next few years will be strengthening the private sector.
During Wednesday’s breakfast, the Chamber gave the Godfrey Smith Past Chairman’s Award to Capital City Trust Company’s Bill Moor. LaTonya McCloud of Capital Regional Medical Center received the Ambassador of the Year Award.
An economic policy manager for Amazon also spoke at the breakfast to provide an update on Project Mango.
