Member News

Chamber Welcomes New Front Range Community College President

One of the important roles that your Chamber plays in this community is that of champion.  As a champion, we are devoted to making our community a great place to live, work and raise families. But we don't do this work alone. We collaborate with various public and private partners to find solutions and opportunities.  One of those important partners is Front Range Community College. We are thrilled to introduce to the community the new president for FRCCC.
NEW PRESIDENT TAKES THE HELM AT FRCC...

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Save the Date: 117th Annual Celebration

Online: Tuesday, February 15, 8:00- 8:30 a.m.
In-Person Event: Wednesday, April 27, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce the 117th Annual Celebration, a two-part event that will bring the community together online and in-person to celebrate the success of the Fort Collins Chamber and the business community.

In the spirit of the this year's Building Community theme, the Chamber will:

Part 1: Online

share what was accomplished in 2021
...

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Hello From Your New President & CEO

Happy New Year from the Fort Collins Area Chamber to all of our business partners!  As an organization, we are excited to kick off 2021 and, as an individual, I am thrilled to be taking on the role of President & CEO at the Fort Collins Area Chamber.

My name is Ann Hutchison and I took on the reigns at the Chamber on January 1.  I am happy to say that many of you reading this blog already know me.  For those that I haven’t met yet, I look forward to connecting with you soon.

A lit...

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Ann Hutchison, the Executive Committee, and Moving Fort Collins Forward

As members, you’ve probably seen the news about the Chamber’s Executive Vice President Ann Hutchison being promoted to President & CEO effective January 1. A big congratulations to Ann! She will bring new energy and ideas to the Chamber while providing continuity and stability during the pandemic recovery and economic rebuilding. I hope you extend to her and the Chamber the high level of help and support you provided to me.

A big thank you to the Chamber Executive Committee for the ex...

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Businesspeople are Heroes and I’m Grateful to Have Served You

Last week I announced to the Chamber Board that I am retiring at the end of 2020. That information was shared with you as a member of the Chamber, is in this week’s electronic newsletter and has been in the press.

Before moving on to talk about the future and you, I’ve been encouraged to share a few comments about my departure.

First, it is bittersweet. I have the best job in town so giving it up does not make any sense, right? That is true! In general, I like to work, and I thoroughly...

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Valerie Arnold

On Saturday one of our friends and active members, Valerie Arnold, died from cancer. She lit up every room she entered. An attorney who became a realtor, she was a former

Assistant Attorney General and counsel to Colorado Division of Real Estate. With the Chamber, Valerie was active with the Red Carpet Committee, the annual Moving Fort Collins Forward! campaign, and served on the Local Legislative Affairs Committee.

In the community Valerie served on the Board of Citizens for a Sustain...

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New Year, New Overtime Pay Rules, Minimum Wage Increase

Starting a few days ago, new overtime pay rules went into effect.

On January 1, a new federal Labor Department rule requires employers to pay workers one-and-a-half times their hourly rate when they work more than 40 hours per week for those earning less than $35,568 per year. This is an increase from the previous threshold of $23,660.

Employers can apply contractual bonuses and commission payments to as much as 10 percent of the exempt threshold.

You can find more information about the...

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2019 Great Year for Chamber and Region

Another year come and gone. In its roles as a catalyst, convener, and champion, the Chamber had a positive and proactive impact on the prosperity and livability of the Northern Colorado region. Following are a few highlights.

Champion for stronger communities

North I-25 is getting widened. In recent years, I-25 has been a perennial on our end-of-the-year list. In the recent past, it has mostly been about the funding secured for North I-25. And that is impres...

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Telling Business’ Story

What do you think when you hear the word ‘business?’ Since most people reading this are members of the Chamber and are businesspeople, it’s probably something positive.

A longstanding concern, however, is: What is the public’s perception of business? In a community like Fort Collins with large public institutions it might be easy to overlook the impact of business and businesspeople on the community’s livability.

In August, the Chamber commissioned intercept polls at NewWestFest....

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Bureaucratic Bullying Kills Jobs

I love history. It entertains, it amazes, and, most of all, it informs. Regarding the latter point, as George Santayana said ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ (As a total aside, that’s why the current fascination with socialism is astonishing. How quickly we seem to have forgotten the lessons of the not-so-distant past.)

Sometimes, however, something is less historic than it is just plan old. So it is with the so-called ‘historic’ silos on Woodward’s...

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