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NOTE: This article with Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the May 12, 2022 Bloomington Rotary Club's weekly newsletter "Roundabout"  Jim Bright introduced Eric Spoonmore, president and CEO of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. Eric started the job on Dec. 1, 2021.
Eric said he was particularly pleased to be in the IMU, where he got married. He and his wife met while both were working at Macri’s Deli, a place many of you will remember. He grew up on the west side of Indianapolis; his father was a teacher and his mother a nurse. He came to Bloomington as an IU undergraduate in 2000 and never left. He received his bachelor’s degree in local government management and his master’s in public management from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, now the O’Neill School. He worked at the IU Kelley School of Business, and “got the itch for politics” in 2015, when he won a seat on the Monroe County Council. He served six years.
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NOTE: This Noon Edition interview with Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the May 5, 2022 WFIU Noon Edition by Nathan Moore.  Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.
Monroe County homeowners should expect higher property taxes next year. With the increase in home prices and construction of the new hospital, values of homes in Monroe County are rising. According to an article from The Herald Times, values for homes in Monroe County have risen 15% in the past year. With the construction of the new hospital, the county’s assessments have risen $1.9 billion, a record increase for a single year. Furthermore, homeowners who have improved their homes or who live in a highly desired area can see an even higher increase in home value. This rise in value also can raise the value of neighboring homes. On top of it all, concerns of continuing inflation may affect the housing market. NOTE: This "Your Turn" guest column by Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the April 24, 2022 Bloomington Herald-Times.
NOTE: This Kelley School of Business Go from Moment to Momentum article was published on April 5, 2022 with Indiana University's Kelley School of Business Blog. By: George Vlahakis  Hosted by the Kelley Institute for Social Impact, the Kelley Impact Case Competition brings together socially minded students in order to find and implement solutions to a social issue in Bloomington. As a student at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Lance Breitstein fell in love with the stock market. He read or watched anything he could find on the topic, whether it was a book, a blog or a video.
“What I realized was that I really wanted to go into the field of stock trading,” recalled Breitstein, a 2011 Kelley alumnus who today lives in Chicago. After getting a bachelor’s degree in finance, Breitstein spent a “wonderful” decade working at Trillium Management, one of the nation’s first and fastest growing digital trading firms. He managed its Chicago office and became one of its top traders. NOTE: This Business/Finance feature was published in the April/May 2022 edition of Bloom Magazine. By: Kristen Senz  Eric Spoonmore is driven to help make his local community a better place to live, work, and do business.
That’s why, he says, after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public affairs at Indiana University, he moved with his wife, Lindsey, to Washington, D.C., to consult with local government officials. But he quickly came to a stark realization. “We were ready to go whip the world in Washington, but we realized it was just not for us,” says Spoonmore, 40, who became president and CEO at the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce in December 2021. “The community did not suit me the way Bloomington did.”  Eric Spoonmore, Ashwin Ramesh, Kayla Oxley, Naina Prabhakar, Katie Cole, and Lance Breitstein // Photo provided by The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce’s partnership with the 4th annual Kelley Impact Competition (KIC) hosted by The Kelley Institute for Social Impact (KISI) concluded on April 1st, 2022. The winners of the competition, Spades Consulting, will implement their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) plan in the 2022-2023 school year.
The annual case competition brings together socially minded students at Indiana University and is made possible by a gift from Kelley School of Business alumnus Lance Breitstein, BS'11. In addition to $15,000 in student prizes, $10,000 in seed money supports the implementation of the winning idea to create lasting social change in the community. The winning team consisted of four Indiana University sophomores, Naina Prabhakar (majoring in Marketing and International Business), Kayla Oxley (majoring in Marketing and Business Analytics), Katie Cole (majoring in Marketing, Business Analytics, and Sociology), and Ashwin Ramesh (majoring in Finance and Business Analytics). The Spades Consulting team said they decided to participate in KIC so they could make an impact on the community and grow as leaders.  Chamber members, their employees, and the public are invited to join the fun at PrimeTime Business After Hours on Thursday, April 21, from 5:00 – 8:00p.m. at the Monroe County Fairgrounds. The event, which debuted in 2013, is three events rolled into one: Business After Hours, a Business Expo and an exhibition of local food trucks.
This year’s PrimeTime Business Expo will spotlight over 90 exhibitors in the exhibition hall. Businesses currently hiring will be marked by having balloons at the tables. Along with the business and community partner exhibits, a wide variety of local food-truck fare will be available in this year’s new attraction, Food Truck Frenzy. A beer and wine garden featuring local wineries and breweries will also be on site. Brother William Morris, host of Soul Kitchen, will emcee the festivities. “The Chamber and our members are very excited for the return of this year’s PrimeTime Business Expo,” said Eric Spoonmore, president and CEO of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. “This is a terrific opportunity for the community to connect with our local businesses, enjoy delicious food, and have a great time together at the Monroe County Fairgrounds.” The first 250 people to arrive at the PrimeTime Business Expo will receive a food voucher to use at one of the food trucks in attendance. The PrimeTime Business Expo is open to all Chamber members, their employees, and the public. Those interested in attending should register at the event’s page at www.ChamberBloomington.org. There is no cost to register for the event. NOTE: This WFIU Interview with Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the March 17, 2022 WFIU Noon Edition by Bente Bouthier.  Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.
Monroe County dropped into the blue advisory on the state’s COVID-19 map this week – indicating the lowest level of viral spread. The drop in cases is reminiscent to last spring and summer, when the state last experienced low levels of spread. And having met its goals for low community COVID spread , the county lifted its mask mandate this month. Indiana’s unemployment rate fell to 2.4 percent in January– the lowest rate in the Midwest. But the state’s labor force participation rate hasn’t moved much and isn’t on par with national numbers. It's Your Business: Chamber encourages voting in upcoming elections, shares top priorities3/11/2022 NOTE: This "It's Your Business" column by Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the March 11, 2022 Bloomington Herald-Times.  The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce is excited to cover the candidates and issues leading up to Primary Election Day on May 3. Be sure to mark your calendars — early voting in Monroe County begins April 5, and voters will have several local, state and congressional candidates to nominate.
Primary winners from each party will then run for the general election on Nov. 8, along with nonpartisan school board candidates. The chamber encourages all eligible voters to exercise their right to vote in the 2022 primary election. Voting during the primaries is a crucial element of our democracy and is an expression of what is most important to our voters. From policies to programs, and everything in between, primary elections are an opportunity to nominate leaders who will fight for what you feel is paramount to the success of the greater Bloomington community. |
Chamber NewsThis blog contains press releases and other news updates from the Chamber. Archives
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421 W 6th Street, Suite A | Bloomington, IN 47404 Phone: (812)336-6381 | info@chamberbloomington.org | sitemap Office Hours: Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm Friday: 9:00am-3:00pm There is a no refund policy for events. If you need to reassign your ticket to another person we will be happy to update our attendance list. Thank you. |
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