December 2022: What Can We Learn From Northwest Arkansas?

In this month's episode of SGF Business Insider, Chamber president Matt Morrow sits down with Brandi Bailey and David Cameron. Bailey is the Vice President of Strategic Development & Marketing at Snyder Construction Group and Cameron is the City Administrator at the City of Republic.

Bailey and Cameron discuss insights from their recent Community Leadership Visit to Northwest Arkansas. Topics include takeaways on regional collaboration, brand identity around natural assets, talent attraction and retention, the value of long-range regional planning, and much more.

November 2022: What Does Succeeding in Business Really Look Like?

In the November edition of SGF Business Insider podcast, Chamber president Matt Morrow is joined by our Membership Development Manager Peyton Andrews in a conversation with Tom Douglas. Douglas is the CEO of JMARK and the author of the new book Adapt or Die.

Douglas shares actionable insights from his new book and lessons learned from years of executive leadership. Podcast recorded via Zoom due to logistical challenges - apologies for lesser quality audio than in-studio recordings.

October 2022: How and Why Should We Celebrate our Community?

In the October edition of SGF Business Insider podcast, Chamber president Matt Morrow sits down with Erin Danastasio and Mary Kromrey. Danastasio is the Executive Director of the Hatch Foundation and Kromrey is the Executive Director of Ozark Greenways.

Danastasio and Kromrey discuss topics centered around defining, taking pride in, and celebrating the assets of our community; and creating a vibrant, desirable place to live as we compete for talent and grow our working population.

September 2022: How and Why Do Non-Profit Leaders Engage in the Chamber?

In the September edition of SGF Business Insider podcast, Chamber president Matt Morrow is joined by our public policy analyst Lauren Mustoe in a conversation with two impactful non-profit leaders in the community, Brian Fogle and Brandy Harris. Fogle is the President of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and Harris is the CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield.

Harris and Fogle share the twists and turns of their journey to leading a non-profit, unpack challenges faced by non-profit leaders in the region, and discuss how engagement in Chamber committees, such as the Non-Profit Roundtable and the Legislative Policy Committee, has improved their ability to meet the needs of those they serve.

August 2022: How and Why Do Volunteers Lead the Chamber?

In this month's episode of SGF Business Insider, Chamber President Matt Morrow shares audio from interviews with volunteer leaders featured at our recent Member Appreciation Celebration. The event is both an opportunity to thank members for their investment of time, talent and resources in the Chamber's mission, as well as a mid-year accountability check-in on strategic progress. You'll hear from board, committee and other volunteer business leaders about why they engage in the Chamber and how those experiences benefit them, the community and their organizations.

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July 2022: What is Economic Development?

In this month's episode of SGF Business Insider, Chamber President Matt Morrow sits down with Vicki Pratt, the Chamber's new senior vice president of economic development. They cover a variety of topics all aimed at providing a look at what goes into the process of economic development, how it impacts the overall community, and what communities need to do - and not do - to encourage private sector growth.

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June 2022: How Do Businesses Find Tools to Stay Safe?

This month, Chamber President Matt Morrow sits down with Chief Paul Williams of the Springfield Police Department. They talk about the department's work in crime prevention, officer recruitment efforts, and ways that the business community can help in crime prevention. They also highlight the Chamber's new Let's Keep Springfield Safe Business Toolkit, which gathers multiple resources for businesses together in one place.

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May 2022: How Do We Recover Financially from the Pandemic?

In this episode, Chamber President Matt Morrow talks with Greene County Commissioner John Russell and ARPA Grant & Equity Specialist Dr. Lyle Foster. They talk about how funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) is being directed to small businesses and nonprofits in our area, how the process is going so far, and what organizations can do to get involved.

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April 2022: How Do You Find Hidden Workers?

In this episode, Chamber President Matt Morrow talks with Joseph Fuller. Fuller is a professor with the Harvard Business School and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and they talked about addressing workforce issues. Specifically, they discussed research Fuller and his colleagues have conducted into the concept of "hidden workers," and how businesses can connect with them to meet ongoing workforce shortages.

Visit the Harvard Business School website for more about the "Managing the Future of Work" research project.

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March 2022: What Inspires Professional Women?

In this month's episode, Chamber President Matt Morrow sits down with two women blazing a trail for others in the Springfield community:

• Crista Hogan, president of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association
• Rachel Anderson, director of the efactory at Missouri State University

The two will be recognized on March 10 as the recipients of the 2022 ATHENA Award and the 2022 Virginia Fry Rising Star Award, respectively. They talk about their journeys, their inspirations, and the importance of supporting others in their own professional growth.

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February 2022: How Do We Remove Professional Barriers for Women?

This month, Chamber President Matt Morrow talks with Wendy Doyle.

Wendy is the president and CEO of United Women’s Empowerment (United WE), a non-profit organization based out of Kansas City that tackles barriers to women’s economic growth. They work with decision makers and community leaders, field research on women’s economic development, and contribute to numerous policy reforms – including equal pay efforts, increased paid family leave, work to remove barriers to women’s professional licensing and regulations on sexual harassment.

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January 2022: How Do Volunteer Leaders Prepare for 2022?

This month, Chamber President Matt Morrow talked to two people very important to both the Chamber and the entire Springfield community. They’re the Chamber board chairs for 2021 and 2022, respectively: Logan Aguirre of the 417 group of magazines and John Oke-Thomas of Oke-Thomas + Associates.

Matt Morrow of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Carrie Richardson of Leadership Springfield introduce themselves, their organizations, and the goal of this new podcast adventure. Listen to this brief introductory episode to learn more about what our organizations do and what you can expect to learn from SGF Insider!

December 2021: How Do Small Organizations Succeed?

In this episode, Chamber President Matt Morrow talks with Lisa Farmer, executive director of Harmony House. Lisa and her team were awarded the 2021 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award in November, and they discussed what the award means for her organization and how Harmony House is working to overcome some of the struggles facing organizations of all shapes and sizes.

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November 2021: How Do We Build the Health Care Workforce?

This month we look at a unique program that is allowing our region to begin addressing the issue of workforce shortages in the health care industry. It’s the University of Missouri’s Springfield Clinical Campus. This partnership between Mizzou, Missouri State University, CoxHealth and Mercy is celebrating its fifth year in 2021.

We talked with Dr. David Haustein, the associate dean of the Clinical Campus, and with Samantha Metzger, who is slated to graduate from the program in 2023.

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October 2021: How Do We Connect Businesses with Workforce Training?

This month we’re looking at the ongoing need for skills training in our region, and what one of our most important partners is doing to help address that need.

We talked with Jordan Schreiber, director of student recruitment for Ozarks Technical Community College. She told us about how OTC is utilizing the Missouri Fast Track program, a relatively new initiative working to remove financial hurdles for people already in the workforce who need additional training or certifications to advance in their careers.

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September 2021: How Do You Lead a School District?

Dr. Grenita Lathan was named superintendent of Springfield Public Schools in early 2021 and took the reins of the district in July. Chamber President Matt Morrow had the chance to sit down with her and talk to her on a wide range of topics, including:

• What attracted her to Springfield and SPS
• Her approach to leadership
• The district's response to the pandemic
• And much more

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August 2021: How Do Businesses Find and Retain Employees? (Part Two)

In the second of our two episodes focused on workforce issues, we talk to representatives from two of the Springfield area's largest employers. They tell us how their own organizations tackle the challenge of finding enough employees to help them grow and succeed, as well as how they show those from outside our region all that Springfield has to offer. You'll hear from:

• Celeste Cramer, System Director of Recruitment and Retention with CoxHealth
• Sarah Martin, Talent Acquisition Senior Manager with Bass Pro Shops

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July 2021: How Do Businesses Find and Retain Employees?

Time and again, businesses say the biggest obstacle to growth is finding enough qualified people to fill the jobs they're looking to create. In this episode, Chamber President Matt Morrow talks with two people who are working every day to help employers address the workforce shortage issue:

• Sally Payne, Director of Workforce Development for the City of Springfield
• Rachael Mhire, Marketing & Events Manager for the Chamber's economic development department

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June 2021: How Do We Learn from Peer Cities?

The Chamber has been leading the Community Leadership Visit (CLV) for more than a quarter-century, taking a delegation of community leaders to a peer city to learn from the experiences of another community and to bring back ideas that will benefit the Springfield region.

In this episode, four CLV participants talk about what has been learned from previous visits, how it has been put to work in Springfield, and why it's important for leaders in all sectors to be involved. Hear from:

• Brad Erwin of Paragon Architecture
• Heather Hardinger, member of Springfield City Council
• Dr. Alina Lehnert, president of the Springfield R-12 Board of Education
• Tim Rosenbury, the city's Director of Quality of Place Initiatives

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May 2021: How Are We Developing Skills Training that Leads to Quality Jobs?

Every region in the country is competing to be the place businesses want to choose when they decide to grow and add jobs. But jumping to the top of the list requires a commitment to skills training and workforce development.

In our May episode, we talk with Robert Randolph, executive director of the new Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Ozarks Technical Community College, about the programs the college is developing. We also talk with Jena Holtberg-Benge. Jena is general manager with John Deere Reman, which just announced that they’re expanding their local operations, and we discuss why Springfield is the right spot for them to expand their remanufacturing operations.

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April 2021: How Are Women Empowered to Lead in Our Community?

The Chamber held its annual ATHENA Award ceremony in March, recognizing two women who make a difference in our community. The ATHENA Award is given to someone who has spent their career empowering women to achieve greatness and improving the quality of life for others in the community. The Virginia Fry Rising Star Award is given to a young professional woman who is already making a difference in the community for herself and other women.

In this episode, we talk with ATHENA recipient Karen Kramer of CoxHealth and Rising Star recipient Brandy Harris of Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield about their personal journeys, the importance of support networks, the people who have inspired them and how they work to inspire others.

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March 2021: How Do Businesses Navigate the Digital Landscape?

The Internet, smart devices and social media have fundamentally changed the way individuals and businesses interact with each other - including how they make purchasing decisions. In order for small businesses to be successful in this new digital landscape, they must understand how to reach new and potential customers and make effective connections.

In this month's installment of SGF Business Insider, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President Matt Morrow interviews Spencer Harris, president of Mostly Serious Interactive Agency. They talk about the results of the agency's recent digital landscape survey of Springfield-area businesses, including:

• Smart phones and mobile devices and the role they play in purchasing habits
• How people interact with businesses digitally
• The power of people's connection to local business and how it translates online

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February 2021: How Do We Win Projects & Create Jobs?

In this episode, Matt Morrow talks to Mary Lilly Smith, Planning & Development Director for the City of Springfield, and Ryan Mooney, the Chamber's Senior Vice President of Economic Development.

They talk about the process of competing for business expansion and relocation projects, including:

• The criteria that businesses look at when considering where to locate or expand
• The economic incentive process
• The importance of placemaking

As a bonus, you'll hear Ryan's interview with Josh Bays from Site Selection Group. They spoke for the recent Manufacturing Outlook event about what goes into the site selection process and some recent trends in that industry.

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January 2021: How Do Volunteer Leaders Prepare?

In this episode, Matt Morrow sits down with Robin Robeson of Guaranty Bank and Logan Aguirre of 417. Robin served as chair of the Chamber Board of Directors in 2020, while Logan takes that role in 2021. Hear their insights into:

• Why they take time from their busy professional lives to get involved in volunteer leadership
• What they've learned from their public service
• How others can get involved in their community

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Podcast Trailer

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Springfield are excited to tell you about our new podcast adventure, SGF Insider, launching in January 2021. Listen to learn more!

 

Welcome to SGF Insider!

Matt Morrow of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Carrie Richardson of Leadership Springfield introduce themselves, their organizations, and the goal of this new podcast adventure. Listen to this brief introductory episode to learn more about what our organizations do and what you can expect to learn from SGF Insider!