Chamber envisions bright economic future

Jan. 25, 2010 ---

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce released its latest economic vision for San Luis Obispo's future in January to help guide the city out of the economic downturn.

By looking to a time when business is again expanding, the Chamber developed strategies to ensure San Luis Obispo is poised to take advantage of coming economic opportunities.

“It’s difficult to piece together a puzzle if you don’t first know what it looks like,” Chamber President Dave Garth said. “Now that we have a clear vision of what the community wants, we can work toward achieving that vision.”

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce is the oldest and largest voluntary organization in San Luis Obispo County and uniquely serves the needs of its 1,400 members. For more than 105 years, it has been dedicated to a single goal: the economic health of the San Luis Obispo area and the prosperity of its members.

“We’re one of the few Chambers to actually put these types of visions and value statements in writing,” Garth said. “It’s unusual for a small community to be as united as we are and for a Chamber to create a vision that the community can really rally behind.”

In its third major revision since 1992, the Chamber’s vision of San Luis Obispo’s economic future features long-term objectives, core values and economic principles, and a six-point economic strategy for the future. The document was officially released at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner gala on Jan. 23.

“We’re building on what we continue to see as a key focus,” Garth said. “The Chamber works on creating long-term visions, and we stick with them, revise them or refine them.”