Chamber Eyes Economic Development
Moving from their “social” footing into a more active economic development stance, the Parkville Chamber of Commerce has formed an economic development and legislative liaison committee.
Twenty members of the Parkville business community met last Friday at the Chamber of Commerce offices in the train depot downtown, a number that surprised the board’s chairman, Jim McCall.
“We had great participation,” McCall said. “We had people who have never been to a Chamber meeting before.”
As first reported on a recent episode of The Luminary Hour, the new board’s vision will include increasing awareness of Parkville as a business destination – not just a place to visit or live. A portion of that vision includes retaining existing businesses and helping them grow as well as attracting new organizations to town.
Also, the board hopes to represent the city in broader, legislative sense.
“We’re hoping to do a visit to Jefferson City this year, to establish a presence there and let [lawmakers] know our needs,” McCall said. “We want to make sure we’re represented in metro-wide, state-wide and national economic programs.”
McCall said the new board signals a slight change in direction for the Parkville Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has mainly served as a social networking entity, hosting informational breakfasts and Thursday afternoon social events.
“[The chamber] should be a resource for the business community,” McCall said, adding the board will seek to work with other area entities such as the Platte County Economic Development Council.
“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” McCall said. “We’re going to utilize the resources available.”
The board will develop a mission statement over the next several months and will particularly seek to work with area developers such as The National and Barth Realty. The board meets on the fourth Friday of each month at noon in the train depot.