On Friday night the Michigan City Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated Michigan City with its members and guests at the Annual Membership Dinner. The event, held at the Blue Chip Casino’s Stardust Event Center, featured the State of the City address given by Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer and a dinner consisting of Hoosier favorites prepared by the Chefs at the Blue Chip Casino.
Click here to see more photos from the State of the City Address!
The Chamber has been actively making connections and establishing partnerships throughout the city to develop a quality workforce. They have been involved in the revitalization work on the North End and South Gateway Corridor sections of town. Trips to Italy and China have also expanded the Chambers International Awareness program.
Ann Dahm, Chamber of Commerce President, shared some of the highlights of the Chambers activity.
“We’ve been working to increase awareness and utilization of the benefits of being a member of the Chamber,” she said. “We are developing our next generation with the Young Professionals Lakefront Career Network, which is intended to attract and keep young people in Michigan City.”
Attending the event was Mark Kempe from Impreglon, in Michigan City, who recently joined the Chamber of Commerce.
“Our company has gone through some changes over the last year and we really wanted to get more in touch with the community,” Kempe said. “Joining the Chamber is going to be a big part of that.”
There to give the State of the City address to Michigan City citizens and community and business leaders, was Mayor Ron Meer. When he was elected in 2011, Meer said he knew that time was of the essence.
“We laid the foundation on which positive change could be built in our community,” he said. “Our goals have encountered some obstacles and roadblocks along the way, but we kept our focus, we kept moving forward, and we are well on our way to achieving what we set out to accomplish.”
“Providing a city where our residents and visitors are safe is a fundamental building block to our progression,” Meer continued. “Achieving a high level of public health and safety is a vital component in our ability to attract new businesses, and families will not relocate to our community if they have any doubts about their safety.”
Crime is down 24% since Meer took office in 2012, and emergency response times have shortened to just over two minutes.
In June, the city will break ground on the new, state-of-the-art police station in the Eastport neighborhood, and construction is underway on a new Parks Department Office Building in Washington Park.
“This new building will offer office space, concessions operations, and a lower pavilion and entertainment area with an upper observation deck which will afford stunning views of Lake Michigan and the Lighthouse,” Meer said of the new Park Office. “We’re going to utilize our community’s strongest assets to maximize its potential, and increase our livability.”
Through the work of the Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor’s Office, Michigan City has overcome negative, pessimistic attitudes with optimism and positive energy.
