Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce — Success School Program 
Sometimes the most meaningful conversations don’t happen in front of a packed room. 

They happen in smaller settings—where students ask real questions, speakers share real experiences, and the conversation stops being about presentation and starts being about possibility. 

That was the case at the recent Success School Business & Entrepreneurship Career Panel at Edgewood High School. With just a handful of students in attendance, the setting allowed for something more impactful: an honest, direct conversation about what it actually takes to build something—and why that matters, both for students individually and for Bloomington’s economic future. 
​
Real Experience, Real Conversations 
The panel brought together three people representing different corners of Bloomington’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Jay Nelson founded and scaled RCV Roofing, Siding & Gutters into one of Southern Indiana’s largest residential roofing companies before selling it in 2022; he now runs TradeWins, helping contractors build businesses that don’t depend entirely on the owner. Allan Buhr has spent decades moving between the inside and outside of business finance—holding controller roles at construction companies before returning to commercial lending at Farmers & Mechanics Federal. And Hana Kieger is finishing her PhD in entrepreneurship at IU while simultaneously running her third company, a supplement for jet lag recovery, and preparing to begin a professorship. 
​
Their paths couldn’t look more different. Their message to students was nearly identical: you don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to start. ​

A group of over 200 people heard from economists and economic development experts at the 2021 Business Outlook Luncheon, co-sponsored by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and the Bloomington Rotary Club. The Nov. 9 event was held at IU Alumni Hall. 

Panelists were Kyle Anderson and Jennifer Lynn Rice of the IU Kelley School of Business, Ryan Brewer of the IU Columbus Division of Business, and Jennifer Pearl of the Bloomington Economic Development Corp.

​Watch a recording of the event here.

The final 2021 Indiana Legislative Update took place on Saturday, April 10, with briefings from Rep. Peggy Mayfield (District 60) and Rep. Matt Pierce (District 61). 

The monthly forums, held while the Indiana General Assembly is in session, are co-hosted by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters of Monroe County, and the LWV of Brown County.
​
Watch the April 10 forum on CATS here.

Four state legislators representing Monroe County gave an overview of action at the Indiana General Assembly at the Feb. 13 Legislative Update, co-sponsored by the local League of Women Voters and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.

​Sen. Shelli Yoder (District 40), Rep. Matt Pierce (District 61), Rep. Peggy Mayfield (District 60) and Rep. Jeff Ellington (District 62) provided updates and answered audience questions. Watch the 90-minute session here.

The next updates will be held on March 6 and April 10. Click here to register.

The Chamber is partnering with the League of Women Voters of Bloomington/Monroe County for a monthly Legislative Update series, starting on Saturday, Jan. 16 from 9:30-11 a.m.

The virtual event will be conducted via Zoom. Click here to register.

State legislators representing Monroe County will give overviews of their activities in the Indiana General Assembly and will take questions from the audience.  Each session will be taped by CATS and replayed on scheduled dates or on request.
 
Subsequent updates are planned February 13, March 6, and April 10.

On Dec. 9, the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce hosted U.S. Representative Trey Hollingsworth for a Federal Focus event.

Hollingsworth, a Republican who represents Indiana’s District 9 in the U.S. House of Representatives, was re-elected to his third term in November. He discussed a wide range of issues in response to questions from Chamber members, including COVID-19 support for businesses, the presidential transition, balancing public health and economic recovery, and much more.

The event, attended by over 60 people, was covered by Indiana Public Media. Read their report here.

Three panelists representing different aspects of Bloomington's performing arts sector shared their views at an Aug. 13 Chamber Speaker Series event.

​Speakers were:

• Kate Galvin,  artistic director for Cardinal Stage
• Linda Pisano, chair of the Indiana University Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance
• Sean Starowitz, assistant director for the arts with the City of Bloomington Economic & Sustainable Development Department

Topics in the wide-ranging discussion included the impact of COVID-19 on performing arts organizations, how groups are adapting in creative ways, infrastructure needs, ways that new collaborations are forming, and the need for ongoing support during these challenging times.

​According to a 2019 study commissioned by Cardinal Stage, the Bloomington/Monroe County performing arts sector adds over $4 million annually to the local economy and supports more than 160 jobs here.

Click here to view a recording of the Speaker Series discussion.

At a July 31 event featuring leaders of Bloomington's Black business community and city officials, the Chamber led a ceremony  to install an Indiana historical market in Peoples Park. The maker commemorates the Black Market, a Black-owned business that was firebombed in 1968.

This ends a process that officially began in the summer of 2019 with an application to the Indiana Historical Bureau, in partnership with the Chamber's Black-Owned Business Affiliate Group and the City of Bloomington. 

Peoples Park was originally the location of the Black Market in Bloomington, opened by Rollo Turner in 1968 on land owned by Larry Canada, a businessman and antiwar activist. This was a peaceful gathering place for citizens of Bloomington as well as Indiana University students where LPs, books, artwork, and African imports were sold. On December 26th, 1968, the Black Market was firebombed by the local members of the KKK. Ultimately, the Market was forced to close after all inventory was lost. Not long after, the building that housed the Black Market was razed, leaving an empty plot of land. In the early 1970’s, Indiana University students started plantings flowers and vegetation in the area, eventually naming it Peoples Park in honor of a park at UC-Berkeley.

Click here to watch a video of the event.