Chamber of commerce unveils new strategic plan to 'elevate Hoover'

The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce in May unveiled a new three-year strategic plan designed to advance the economy and quality of life in the city.

In a kickoff event at Farrelly’s Southern Bar & Kitchen in The Grove shopping center Tuesday night, chamber leaders shared more than a dozen strategies they plan to use to “elevate Hoover.”

The goals are to foster more economic growth, be a stronger voice for businesses and cultivate talent in the workforce, said David Custred, chairman of the chamber’s board of trustees.

To foster economic vitality, the chamber wants to partner with various allies to market the city, attract new companies, retain existing ones, create a thriving small business ecosystem and create opportunities to bring businesses and residents together.

To be a stronger voice for businesses, chamber leaders want to serve more as a hub with resources for businesses, leverage multimedia platforms for communication and better represent business interests to city officials.

To cultivate talent, the chamber plans to identify the needs and skill gaps that need to filled in the city, create stronger partnerships between the business community and educators, support young professionals, recognize the top employers in the city, use social media to target talent outside the Hoover area and partner with the city to showcase what Hoover has to offer companies and their employees.

Some of the specific steps chamber officials plan to take include:

• Engaging the Main Street Alabama organization. Hoover will apply for a “Main Street Alabama” designation, which would enable the city to get a market analysis that would help the city revitalize its central corridors, such as Lorna Road, chamber President Toni Herrera-Bast said. The focus is not just beautification, but revenue and job enhancement, said Greg Knighton, the city’s economic development manager.
• Partnering with the Hoover Restaurant Alliance to promote the 2022 Hoover Restaurant Week, which this year is intentionally timed to coincide with the World Games in July.
• Holding another economic summit to bring businesses together with city officials to discuss the city’s business climate and plan for economic growth and development.
• Developing closer ties with the Hoover school system, Riverchase Career Connection Center and Jefferson State Community College to develop a better pipeline to fill jobs that are in demand in the Hoover community. With Hoover’s strong retail base and focus on sports tourism, one area of focus will be the hospitality industry, helping prepare workers for hotels and restaurants, Herrera-Bast said.
• Working with the Central Six Alabama Works organization to provide training for workers in targeted areas so that employees get the skills they need to thrive and businesses get the workers they need to provide quality goods and services.

The chamber has developed several new committees to help accomplish these tasks, including: diversity, equity and inclusion; government relations; Main Street; marketing and communications; programming and events; travel, tourism and hospitality; and workforce and economic development.

There is much work to be done, and it will take a lot of people working together to accomplish the goals, Herrera-Bast said.

Paul Dangel, the previous chairman of the board for the chamber, said the new strategic plan is the result of several years of work that begin in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic caused some delays for the group, but chamber leaders have been very intentional in choosing new board members who will help accomplish these goals, he said.

The chamber also hired the Hight Performance Group out of Austin, Texas, as a consultant to help develop the strategic plan.

Hoover Council President John Lyda said he’s not sure the chamber has ever gone through this massive of an overhaul, but he’s confident the chamber is working to better represent all types of businesses, whether they employ one person or 10,000 people.

Mayor Frank Brocato said the chamber in the past seemed more focused on having gatherings and did not have as broad of a vision for developing the city and moving it forward. He is pleased to see the changes that are taking place, he said. “I think we are a great team now. I’m excited about everything that is going on.”

He doesn’t just want to see Hoover grow, but the greater metro area grow, and other mayors of nearby cities tell him the same thing, he said. “We don’t want to be islands.”