Forward Janesville - TheReport - First Quarter 2018

4 • W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M JOHN BECKORD - PRESIDENT, FORWARD JANESVILLE Celebrating 100 Years: A TRADITION OF SERVICE In the latter part of the 17th century, French traders banded together in Marseilles, France, to form what is widely thought to be the first chamber of commerce. The traders were motivated by the need for protection against enemies, the desire for rules to govern the conduct of trade, and the realization they could influence legislation that impacted commerce. While King George III chartered the first chamber of commerce in North America in 1773, it would take another 145 years for the Commercial Club of Janesville Wisconsin to be founded in 1918. The precursor of the Janesville Chamber of Commerce, which later became Forward Janesville in the 1990s, was formed by a handful of business leaders to organize an effort to convince General Motors to buy the Samson Tractor factory. Just like today, business leaders were doing what they could to promote economic development. One hundred years ago, those leaders were advocating for the construction of what would become Wisconsin’s most expensive new high school, the Janesville High School, which was constructed on the banks of the Rock River between 1919 and 1923. Just like today, the business community was trying to demonstrate to employers that the community could produce an adequate supply of educated workers to meet the needs of a growing industrial base. At Forward Janesville, we are celebrating our 100th anniversary as a chamber of commerce in 2018. It is interesting to learn both how we have changed and how our mission remains the same. We are still promoting economic development, workforce development, and community enrichment. And just like those French traders who banded together in the 18th century, we are still trying to influence legislation that impacts commerce. Like those who led the chamber in the 50s and 60s, road improvements remain a top priority. We have been urging our state and federal officials for almost 15 years to fully fund a $1.2 billion improvement to Interstate 90/39, which has become the main artery of commerce for the region. In the 19th century, local chambers of commerce were principally focused on matters directly related to the conduct of commerce, initiatives like protecting goods in transit and enforcing rules of trade. But eventually local business leaders came to a transforming realization: their own prosperity depended on the development of a prosperous community. Thus, economic development—in all its various forms—seeped into the DNA of most chambers of commerce. Whatever the real or perceived strength or weakness of a local economy, a chamber program has been designed to meet the need. The founding element of the chamber mission to “promote” remains at the core of a typical chamber of commerce today. And while the notion of protection no longer means working together to ward off bandits who held up goods in transit, chambers still have the important role of protecting businesses from excessive taxation and regulation. So, while the words mean different things in today’s world of commerce, we are still promoting and protecting after more than 300 years of service.