Nashville region will have a bright future thanks to our business community
If there was one lesson to be learned from our 2018 Annual Celebration, it was that our business community is passionate about creating a future of economic prosperity for everyone.
On Tuesday, October 23, business and community leaders gathered to celebrate the wins of the past year and look forward to see what the future may hold for our region. Some of the notable achievements were:
- 93 announced business relocations and expansions
- More than 6,500 new jobs
- Nashville being named the fastest-growing metro for the sixth year in a row
To see more of our accomplishments this past year, watch the video below:
We also celebrated the businesses who are working hard to make an impact on areas that will affect our regional future the most, our Regional Impact Award winners.
These areas were:
Educational attainment: Bridgestone Americas and CMT
To make sure we have the talent needed to continue attracting and retaining businesses in the region, we need to cultivate a highly-talented workforce in our public schools.
Transportation & mobility: Gresham Smith and Barge Design Solutions
Long commute times are associated with plenty of negative outcomes for employees in the region, including worse health, worse quality of life and more. Furthermore, a lack of transit options can restrict access to work for many residents.
Health & wellness: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Employers have a great opportunity to improve the health of their workers through employee wellness programs. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce.
Economic prosperity: UBS
Businesses that employ large numbers of workers are anchors for the regional economy and help attract even more growth.
Small business development: The Studio 208
Most of our members are small businesses. Helping these businesses grow and develop into forces in the economy helps everyone succeed.
We also looked to the future with keynote speaker, Rebecca Ryan, who gave concrete tips for thinking like a futurist and anticipating the disruptions that could change the way you do business. Rebecca Ryan also presented at Future Camp, a deeper dive into the issues facing our region and how prepared we are to face them as a community.
Finally, our prize sponsor Southwest Airlines gave away 10 - $250 gift cards to Twitter users who best answered this prompt: “The future of Nashville is _________.”
Here are some of the responses that caught our eye:
Relive all of the excitement on Twitter here.
Even if you missed this year’s Annual Celebration, you can still help us face the challenges and opportunities of the future. See how you can get involved with the Chamber here.