At Lincoln South Rotary Club on August 5 we heard from the President of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Jason Ball. He is asking that we all take the survey to help with the strategic plan (see end of story for details).
 
Jason Ball is a big fan of Rotary and the Four-Way Test. Though he mentioned that a Club that he was associated with had a Five-Way Test - adding "Is It Fun?" as the fifth line.
 
He thanked us for the invitation and stated that we were the first formal presentation he has made since being named President of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in December of 2021. He said he wanted to get comfortable in the role and get reacquainted with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and Lincoln. 
 
He previously worked at the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in the area of economic development. When he asked how we would define economic development, many members offered answers. He agreed with all of the answer and added his own belief - that economic development is about job growth. It is to help businesses find locations and employees so they can be successful.
 
Jason is particularly interested in helping entrepreneurs. During his first job at the Lincoln Chamber, he found it exciting to help entrepreneurs - the people that would come to the Chamber with an idea but without an idea how to make it all work. His job was to help them turn their ideas into successful businesses. 
 
Economic Development matters. There is someone in Lincoln that has an idea for a business. There is someone in Lincoln who is not happy with their current job and is looking for a change. There is someone in Lincoln who is continuing their education and looking for a new career. for all of these people it is important that we continually create new jobs.
 
Economic Development directly impacts the lives of people and builds a pathway to economic stability.
 
As President of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce he oversees the Chamber staff as well as the divisions Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau and Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. In total the team is 25.
 
Jason stated that, even though he did not know Frank Hilsabeck who recently passed away, he feels the impact that he had on the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Lincoln. Frank was the chair of the Chamber in 1999. He believed that the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago and the next best time to plant a tree is today. 
 
Jason emphasized that we need to plant trees today to secure our future. Lincoln has been on a great trajectory and we need to figure out how to get to the next phase.
 
The chamber is currently working toward a new strategic plan. They have hired consultants and are now asking the community for input through a survey.There is also a "box" to select on the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce home page https://www.lcoc.com/. It might even come up automatically (pop up in the middle of the screen) when you open https://www.lcoc.com/.
 
Here is the direct link to the survey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/lincolnvitalitysurvey
 
Besides the strategic plan the biggest project is the study to find a new convention center. The are focusing on 5 possible locations each with benefits and challenges. The locations are all downtown and 4 are in the Haymarket area. 
 
BIO

Jason is president and CEO of the Five-Star Accredited Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. As Chamber president, he also oversees the operations of the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Jason is a Certified Economic Developer and a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management and Oklahoma University’s Economic Development Institute. He is an active member of the International Economic Development Council, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the U.S. Chamber’s Committee of 100 and serves on the board of the U.S. Chamber Midwest Institute for Organization Management. He was also selected as one of Development Counselors International “40 Under 40 Rising Starts in Economic Development.

Prior to his current role with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Jason served as the president & CEO of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce and the Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce. He also served as the director of business development for the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce for five years. Jason also has professional experience in chemistry, technology transfer and business plan development.
 
A Nebraska native, Jason was raised in Sidney, Nebraska and earned his undergraduate degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University and an MBA from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.