T HE
PRES IDENT ’S
M E SSAGE
Well another year has ended and a new one has begun. At times like this it is always good to look back and see what we have accomplished but more important is to look forward and plan for the future. There is no question that 2009 was a challenging year for Lawrence and Douglas County. The effects of the national economic recession hit us here in ways that many people thought would never happen. Hiring at KU has been basically frozen. We saw the announced closures of Sauer-Danfoss and Progress Vanguard and we heard about several layoffs from a number of our major employers. At the same time we continued to see people willing to invest in our community. The Chamber participated in nearly 50 ribbon cuttings for new businesses in Lawrence in 2009 and those businesses created over 300 new jobs. In addition we saw our community continue to invest in our future bioscience efforts. The commencement of the $7.25 million Bioscience & Technology Business Center (bioscience incubator) and the LDCBA acquisition of the old Oread Lab building are significant milestones in having our community established as a bioscience destination. So what is in store for our community in 2010? Almost every national economic forecast indicates that things should improve in 2010, but that they will recover more slowly than originally anticipated. My sense locally is that we are in for another year of basically no economic growth. As the state continues to struggle with its financial situation many of the larger organizations/employers in our community will continue to see limited resources. It does not appear that KU will see any increase in higher education funding and the funding for mental health, medicare/medicaid and other social services agencies that recieve revenue from the state will see yet another decrease in their funding for 2010. In all likelihood K-12 education will also have some reductions in state funding. When you add up all the employment that these sectors create within our community it totals more than 35% of all Douglas County employment. At the same time these things are happening there continues to be a lot of positive things happening. The Bioscience & Technology Business Center will open for business in June 2010 and already we have several very solid leads on companies that are considering locating there. The renovation of the Oread Labs building will provide us with an energy efficient lab that we will now be able to market nationally to prospective bioscience companies. The City’s efforts to acquire the old Farmland property will most likely be completed in 2010 and we will begin development of a long range plan to create a state of the art bioscience/research park on that property. The efforts of the City, DLI and the Chamber to develop a long range plan for downtown should gain some traction in 2010. There is no question that downtown Lawrence is the centerpiece of our community and as such deserves our attention and resources to ensure that it develops in such a manner as to provide the retail, entertainment and cultural assets that we need for our community to grow and prosper.
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So as we proceed into this new year it appears that 2010 will have some challenges for us but also some great opportunities. Like everything else in life we have a choice as a community and as a chamber on how we choose to look at it. Is the glass half empty or half full? I will put my money on half full.
Tom Kern President& CEO
2010 Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting Friday, January 29 Lawrence Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center 200 McDonald Dr. 6p.m. Social Hour 7p.m. Dinner, Awards & Program by Billy Tubbs After party at Paddy O’Quigley’s with entertainment by Twang Daddies click here ne nli to register o
Make your reservation with Sandy at 785-865-4411 or frontdesk@lawrencechamber.com
Lawrence Kansas Chamber of Commerce • 734 Vermont, Ste. 101 • Lawrence, KS 66044