SALT LAKE CITY- (Jan. 19, 2012) Utah faces big decisions to propel the economy in 2012 and beyond, and today the Salt Lake Chamber called for Utahns to make decisions to promote civility, job creation, education, leadership and civic engagement.  

 

“The biggest decisions we will make in 2012 will not take place in a voting booth,” said Lane Beattie, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “If we make the right decisions, 2012 will be seen as a time when we charted the path to more prosperous times.”

 

Beattie pointed out the Utah economy, officially out of recession since June 2009, is growing at twice the rate of the rest of the nation, producing over 22,000 jobs in 2011.

 

“This must be the year we decide to embrace optimism,” said Beattie. “Smart decisions had us better positioned for the economic downturn and smart decisions during the downturn have us positioned to a truly remarkable 2012.”

 

One year ago, the Chamber laid out a private sector plan to create 150,000 jobs over five years. The state surpassed the 18,000-job goal in the first year by 25 percent. Business leaders will continue to support the Utah Jobs Agenda.

 

“We must decide to focus on job creation to benefit Utah’s unemployed and our underemployed,” said David Golden, the chair of the Chamber’s Board of Governors and executive vice president of Wells Fargo Commercial Bank. “We stand ready to work with our elected officials to build on the momentum of our growing economy.”

 

Noting a decline in the level of civility in pubic debate, business leaders declared their support for civility in word and in action.

 

“We commit ourselves to respectful discourse and behavior toward all people,” said Todd Wolfenbarger, president of The Summit Group and a member of the Chamber’s Board of Governors. “We pledge to do our part to help make Utah a more welcoming, inclusive 
and caring community.”

 

The business community has made education a priority. The Salt Lake Chamber is joined by 14 other chambers of commerce from around the state as well as a handful of other business associations in supporting the Prosperity 2020 movement. The group’s goals include ensuring 90 percent of third and sixth graders are proficient in mathematics and reading and that 66 percent of all Utah adults hold a college degree or skilled trade certificate by the end of the decade.

 

“Years from now, we want our children to look back at 2012 as the year when we put their education at the top of our priority list,” said Molly Mazzolini, partner at infinite scale and a member of the Chamber’s Board of Governors. “Now is the time to strengthen our workforce.”

 

The Chamber played a critical role in the immigration debate during last year’s legislative session. An early supporter of The Utah Compact, the Chamber also worked to pass the Utah Guest Worker Law.

 

“We must continue to address our broken immigration system,” said Ron Jibson, the Chamber’s public policy chair and the president and CEO of Questar Corporation. “Our state is now looked to as a leader in this area. The Utah Guest Worker Law is a model for the nation but it is not perfect. We must continue to refine it and we support efforts to improve it but it should not be repealed.”

 

Of course, Utahns face decisions about their elected officials in 2012, as well. Noting that voter turnout has dropped from 78 percent in 1960 to just over 50 percent today, business leaders called on all Utahns to actively participate in their neighborhood caucus meetings and to vote in primary and general elections.

 

“2012 must be the year we dismiss passivity in our civic responsibility,” said Carol Hunter, vice president of Rocky Mountain Power and a member of the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors. “This must be the year we all play a role in making our aspirations our reality.”

 

The Chamber, which will mark its 125^th anniversary later this year, also presented its 2012 Public Policy Guide, outlining its 2012 legislative priorities. The guide is available for download at www.slchamber.com.

 

About the Chamber
The Salt Lake Chamber is Utah’s largest business association and Utah’s business leader.  A statewide chamber of commerce with members in all 29 Utah counties, the Chamber represents 7,700 businesses and approximately 500,000 Utah jobs—nearly half the workforce of our state. With roots that date back to 1887, the Chamber stands as the voice of business, supports its members’ success and champions community prosperity.