Chamber campaign highlights positive economic news

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce is urging local businesses to participate in its Promote the Positive campaign, which includes radio public-service announcements and an online depot of optimistic economic news not widely reported.

Last fall, the chamber set its strategic priorities for 2009, which included a deliberate campaign designed to highlight positive business news, said Communications Manager Michelle West.

"We know that our community was doing a little better than some of our peer cities, and we were hearing a lot in the media about things that were going on at the national level and in other communities," she said. "For example, we would hear about layoffs in St. Louis, but we would never hear that the Springfield unemployment rate was still below the national and state average."

The campaign began gathering steam earlier this year, when the chamber partnered with Journal Broadcast Group to run public-service announcements featuring local small-business owners sharing their success stories. West said Rex Hansen, Journal's vice president and general manager, approached the chamber shortly after the decision was made to launch the campaign.

"It was total serendipity," she said.

So far, more than 20 small businesses - Big Whiskeys, Reliable Chevrolet and Altec Computer Solutions among them - have been featured in the radio spots, West said.

The chamber also is keeping tabs on "good happenings" at a Web page, at the link below, created for the campaign. In April, for example, Forbes Magazine ranked Springfield in the top 20 percent of cities nationwide for "best places for business and careers," and the U.S. Census Bureau released 2008 data that shows the Springfield area is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in Missouri, according to the site.

To learn more about the campaign or to inquire about participating, contact West at (417) 862-5567.