2020 | A Year of Big Challenges & Small Victories

A YEAR OF BIG CHALLENGES & SMALL VICTORIES

We had big plans for 2020, and while it is hard to remember what all of those were, I know just about nothing went as planned. But, as we have faced big challenges that we never could have forecasted, we let our core values of Lead, Innovate, Engage and Impact guide our work and we are proud to say we came out with some small victories.

You may or may not be familiar with the movie Frozen 2; I know some of the parents on our staff have watched and listened to it enough times to memorize it while doing their best to work from home with kiddos this year.

While I don't have kids at home and still get to spend my limited free-time watching Homeland and Friends reruns, rather than Disney movies, my staff pointed out the Frozen 2 song “Into the Unknown,” commemorating the main protagonist’s journey into unfamiliar and uncharted territory. This insightful song calls to attention the fear of taking risks and the exhilaration of making new discoveries. Little did the Disney creators realize how that song would prophetically describe the 2020 experience.

This week we are taking a bit of time to reflect on 2020, the highs and the lows.

While we wish we never would have had to do some of these projects, we would like to take a moment to share and celebrate the small victories of 2020; this is what gives me the strength to journey with my staff, and all of you, Into the Unknown of 2021.

Thank you to our members, sponsors, and legacy investors for all your support this year. We truly couldn't have done this without you.

Thank you.

Brittany Quick-Warner, President & CEO

IN 2020, WE LED.

We created a Eugene Food Scene site to inform the public about businesses that altered their hours & services

We built a robust COVID resource page on our website

We collaborated on the #LoveLaneBiz Pledge & Back-to-Business Guide, encouraging the community to show kindness to businesses

We developed a Support Local Guide that promoted small businesses to encourage shopping local during the holidays

We responded immediately to the local wildfires, re-establishing internet where needed, staff volunteering, and connecting businesses and resources

We dug into the hard issues and led conversations and programming amid mounting racial unrest

We launched our new employee leadership development initiative, the RISE Leadership Institute

IN 2020, WE INNOVATED.

Putting our nose to the grindstone, we were able to pull off our major events through virtual platforms. The transition was not easy, but our team put creativity to the test and connected the community.

We internationally sourced and delivered PPE to first responders, including the Eugene Police Department and the University of Oregon, before it became widely available.

We engaged hundreds of young professionals with programming that helped them develop personally and professionally at our 2020 Virtual YP Summit

We hosted nearly 50 people for weekly small business seminars and virtual networking at our Eugene Greeters meetings

We engaged over 300 business and community leaders at our annual Economic Summit event where we learned about initiatives impacting our local economy

We hosted candidate forums when the community didn't have access to candidates during the spring 2020 primary season

We hosted a virtual business incubator and accelerator for dozens of start-up businesses to learn how to scale their new ventures

We celebrated dozens of women who made a positive impact on our community at our virtual Women Business Leader of the Year 2020

IN 2020, WE ENGAGED.

We launched our 501C3 non-profit, Onward Eugene, to focus on the economic development, retention, and expansion of our region. Through this new initiative, we hope to provide the tools our community needs to grow and sustain a strong business environment.

We individually reached out to our entire 1200 business membership twice this year - even with limited staff- to ensure you all were connected to critical resources and aware of the support available to your businesses.

We partnered on multiple initiatives to assist businesses in reopening, to promote shopping small, and to bring businesses together to support wildfire victims with partners like the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Travel Lane County, United Way, & more.

We met with elected officials multiple times a week in 2020 and operated as a voice for business at the local, state, and federal level, advocating for business-friendly regulations, tax reductions, and bringing businesses to the table to offer solutions to the challenges we faced this year.

As soon as the pandemic hit our community in March, we launched our Committed to Community series where we hosted 24 webinars to bring up-to-date information to our members about the pandemic, small business resources, and community issues.

We came together with businesses and local leaders of color, following the killing of George Floyd, to urge protestors to restrain from violence and to explore ways our businesses can address systematic racism in our community.

IN 2020, WE MADE AN IMPACT.

This is why we do what we do. Positive feedback from our members throughout the year helps to keep us going! We want to share some of the kind words that let us know we were making an impact.

“Thank you for the informative and timely emails from the EAC this year; certainly helped with keeping us all informed in these uncertain and unprecedented times.” - Eugene Chamber Member

“We are fortunate to have such a strong business advocate as the Eugene Chamber at a time like this!” - Eugene Chamber Member

“I wanted to extend kudos to the Chamber for its public presence, resources and communication to members during the COVID-19 crisis.” - Eugene Chamber Member

“By the way, I just wanted to say thank you all for keeping us informed and being a light. This is exactly why we need a Chamber.” - Eugene Elected Official

MOVING FORWARD WITH DIGITAL RECOVERY

Together, Onward Eugene and the Technology Association of Oregon invite you to join us on January 7th for a Digital Resilience Forum; a virtual panel discussion about the resilient communications infrastructure needed before, during, and after a disaster.

We will bring together industry with regional emergency response professionals to share strategies for how we can tackle these challenges collectively. We welcome local businesses, community organizations and individuals to join this lively and timely discussion.

Moderator:

Lane Tompkins, McKenzie District Superintendent

Presenters:

William Chapman, State of Oregon

Patience Winningham, Lane County

Paul Braunstein, FirstNet, AT&T

Ben Shapiro, Emerald Broadband

We are very thankful for the support and partnership of Elevate Technology Group and Lane County.