Chamber leads delegation to Omaha, Neb.

For it's 21st annual Community Leadership Visit, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce this year is leading a delegation to Omaha, Neb.

Over 60 business and community representatives left town early this morning.

The Oct. 9-11 best-practices visit is designed to highlight the Nebraska city's efforts in building a strong entrepreneurial culture, the region’s approach to workforce development, its emphasis on education at all levels and the keys to Omaha’s successful downtown/center city redevelopment, according to a news release.

Past visits have spurred economic and community development. For example, the trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., led to accelerated plans for a Springfield-Branson National Airport terminal; the Lexington, Ky., trip created the catalyst for the Community Focus red-flag report card on Springfield and Greene County; and the visit to Boise, Idaho, spurred the formation of the Springfield Regional Economic Partnership, according to the chamber.

The Omaha metropolitan area is home to 895,151 residents, nearly double the population in the Springfield metro area, according to the chamber's briefing packet on the trip. Omaha's per capita income sits at $46,575, compared to $33,943 in Springfield, and it's public school system is roughly double the size with 50,340 students, compared to 25,175 in the Queen City.

Those traveling are from the chamber, city of Springfield and Springfield Public Schools, as well as delegates from Springfield universities, businesses and health care systems.

Attendees have created a Twitter hashtag, #OmahaCLV, to post updates during the trip. Here are a few tweets from this morning:
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