The June 2016 luncheon of the Crossroads Chamber of Commerce brought 182 business for the Lake County economic update and recent successes. Guest Speaker Karen Lauerman gave them a behind the scenes look at what her organization is all about.
Lauerman is CEO and President of the Lake County IN Economic Alliance (LCEA), a county-centric group that serves over 20 municipal jurisdictions. Their top priorities are to market available properties and opportunities in Lake County, create jobs and investment and provide general economic development support to the communities, county, consultants and companies.
They are the puppeteer behind the curtain, making the show happen. If the most active projects land Lake County as a whole will be looking at over 1600 jobs and 450 million dollars of investments. Fifty-one projects are currently active and will involve even more land tracks and property development. They are expanding current businesses, working to recruit and attract manufacturing, logistics and technology companies, and working with partners on infrastructure, improvements and attractions that will further stimulate the economy.
Click here to check out more photos!
“There are opportunities and LCEA knows how to capitalize on them,” Lauerman explained. “When the LCEA takes on a project, we know we have the ability to stay in the game. We know we won’t win them all and economic development doesn’t happen overnight, but we keep our Lake County brand in the mix.”
Lauerman showcased some upcoming projects along with some impressive numbers including more than 100+ site visits and 300+ lead responses with the majority of the projects in the manufacturing sector.
“When you see the ribbon being cut across the entrance of a new building, a new company announcement, an existing company adding on to their buildings and creating more jobs, that’s what we want to see and the good news is we are seeing more of it,” she said.
Like Blush Beauty in Crown Point. Owner Ashley Harrison opened her salon in April and joined the Crossroads Chamber soon after. “We’re new to the area as well,” she said. “Things like lunch and getting more active in the community will help us network and meet people. It gets our name out there.”
Vickie Wedding of Shaklee Products also said she “loves networking. It gets me in front of people and lets us share ideas.”
If you have heard of the LCEA already then you know what a blessing they are to the community. Sponsors like Centier Bank and the Regional Development Company can testify to that.
Regional Development Company President and Executive Director Erica Dombey said, “When I found out I had an opportunity to sponsor this lunch I jumped at it- because I love Economic Development. It is an honor for me to serve on Karen’s Board of Directors. It truly does take all of us working together to create Economic Development.”