Fort Collins Chamber Hosts Northern Colorado Prospers Annual Summit

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Stakeholders Come Together to Discuss Progress and Future of Top Initiatives

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Jennifer Umland, Communications Coordinator

FORT COLLINS, COLO. – April 26, 2018 – The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its first Northern Colorado Prospers Annual Summit during the morning of April 25 at the Colorado State University Lory Student Center Theatre.

The event brought together company leaders that pledged support for Northern Colorado Prospers, a five-year strategic initiative addressing the region’s key challenges: transportation, labor force, business environment and retaining key employees. The purpose of the morning was to provide a one-year report on the progress being made and capture investor feedback.

“This group invested a year ago because they saw challenges impacting the area and their businesses and decided to do something about them,” said David May, Chamber President & CEO. “The Summit let them talk with peers and hear results we’ve accomplished so far.”

Kevin Unger, President of Poudre Valley Hospital and Medical Center of the Rockies, is the chair of the Northern Colorado Prospers Investors Advisory Council. He, along with Curt Richardson, Founder & Chairman of Otter Products and Blue Ocean Enterprises, spoke as to why Northern Colorado Prospers is a valuable investment. Also, during the morning, Chamber board members led table discussions collecting ideas on how the initiatives can continue to make an impact.

Northern Colorado Prospers is segmented into four actionable goals:

1. Fix I-25 – Comprehensive, multi-year lobbying and communications campaign to secure the $1.7B by 2025 necessary to widen North I-25 between Fort Collins and Longmont (Highways 14 and 66).

2. Align, Attract & Retain Talent: Implement strategies to ensure a competitive advantage for area employees through quality workers and for area workers through quality jobs.

3. Bold Voice of Business: Advocate the perspective of business and ensure public officials and residents understand the strong connection between business vitality, jobs and having the means to afford public services that greatly enhance the quality of community life, such as good schools, parks and bike paths.

4. Expand & Retain Existing Business: Grow the area economy by helping primary employers expand locally.

“We saw (NCP) as an excellent opportunity and unique opportunity to improve the standard living for employees and their families,” said Ethan Gannett, VP of Engineering at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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