The Greater Des Moines Way

This guest column was originally written and published in the Business Record.

In July, the Greater Des Moines Partnership was named the Chamber of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), the highest recognition in our industry.

This award was decades in the making, and it belongs to everyone who has helped move Greater Des Moines forward.

I am grateful for Partnership team members — past and present — and our Board, Investors, Affiliate Chambers of Commerce, Regional Chamber Members, cities, counties and stakeholders who have worked together for many years to position our region to earn this recognition.

Our story stretches back to 1888. Across nearly 140 years, thousands of leaders have helped move The Partnership and our region forward.

This award belongs to those leaders, including those who boldly came together in 1999 to shape what is now The Partnership. They navigated the challenges and opportunities of bringing several entities together to drive efficiency and a stronger focus on economic development and talent development. Their vision and willingness to work together continues to serve our region today.

This award belongs to those who collaborated to create our Dual Membership Model, through which Members of Affiliate Chambers are also Regional Chamber Members of The Partnership. Today, this network connects 25 Affiliate Chambers and more than 7,200 Regional Chamber Members. This collectively makes us the second-largest regional chamber of commerce in the country. Together, we strengthen the public-private-nonprofit partnerships, workforce initiatives and economic development efforts that make our region a great place to live, work and do business. Local successes add up to regional success, creating a more connected and competitive Greater Des Moines that is better positioned to attract jobs, talent and investment.

That same spirit of collaboration continues through innovative programs such as The Legacy Project: Career Ready Collective. Funded by the Principal Charity Classic’s Legacy Project with support from Sammons Financial Group, this program helps high school students with skills-based learning and career readiness training. We have heard directly from students and parents that this work is changing lives. That is what this work is ultimately about.

This award also belongs to our region’s current leaders who serve at the highest levels of their organizations and still choose to invest their time, resources and expertise in Greater Des Moines. Our Board of Directors continually demonstrates that commitment. I am especially grateful to our Board Chair, Chris Costa, for his leadership, dedication and unwavering support of our region and organization.

And this award belongs to our Partnership team members and the many team members who came before them each contributing to the work that strengthens our region. They create talent programming that positions our current and future workforce for greater success. They travel the country selling our region to attract more economic development projects while helping businesses already here continue to grow. They advocate and build consensus on public policy issues, create events and experiences that add to our region’s quality of life and share the Greater Des Moines story loud, bold and broad.

Every day, our team carefully listens to our Investors and responds to their needs with care, collaboration and a commitment to delivering results.

Being named the Chamber of the Year is an incredible honor. But what makes it meaningful is what it says about Greater Des Moines.

It says that the way we work together matters.

Year after year, day after day, leaders across our region choose collaboration — even when the work is difficult — because they share a belief in what Greater Des Moines can be. And people are taking notice.

Peers across the country have looked to emulate our Dual Membership Model and our region’s commitment to collaboration. It is one example of what is possible when we bring people together around a shared belief in our region and its future.

That is the Greater Des Moines way.

So yes, we are going to celebrate this one. But this is not a finish line. It is motivation to keep pushing, innovating and winning together as one region.

Keep up with the momentum that's happening in and around Greater Des Moines (DSM) when you subscribe to one or all of the Greater Des Moines Partnership's newsletters — they're packed with the latest news, highlighting everything from upcoming events to development projects to policy updates. Join the mailing list to connect with The Partnership and help amplify stories from around the region.