RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Despite having to overcome hurdles brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic, the February 25, 2021 Business Outlook & Economic Forecast was a success according to Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce President, Diann Rogers who noted strong attendance numbers for the event’s first foray into the world of Zoom..

“We were able to create a quality production and reach a larger audience” said Rogers.

Organized by the Chamber, the Business Outlook brings together city government leaders and business owners providing them with information and insight into the economic health of the community along with national trends and indicators.

Since COVID prevented the customary gathering of attendees, it was initially thought the Outlook might be an in-person/zoom hybrid solely handled by the Chamber. However, concerns over safety protocols and possible technical gaffes led to a fortuitous result. The Marriot who has hosted the event in the past suggested one of their partners Encore, an audio/video company, could take over production duties turning the location at the hotel into a media studio.

Encore seamlessly brought physically together a small number of Chamber speakers and Mayor Garret Gatewood virtually, the event attendees, and a Keynote Speaker all the way in Washington DC. This also freed up the Chamber to focus on the content unencumbered by unnecessary logistics.

Introduced by the Honorable Rosanna Herber, the SMUD Director representing Ward 4, Keynote Speaker Neil Bradley, the Executive Vice President and Chief Policy officer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, shared his insight into business development on the national stage with the pandemic obviously dominating his presentation.

Utilizing the shape of a letter “K”, Bradley described the economy on two different courses after last year’s “full economic halt” caused by COVID. Industries that have recovered and doing actually better than they were pre-pandemic such as financial institutions and healthcare contrasted with others continuing to suffer like restaurants and tourism.

Bradley also remarked there were 6.8 million open jobs but industries are finding them difficult to fill despite record level unemployment. Still the tenure of his presentation was positive and felt the country has “a lot to build on”.

Other issues he brought up were “turbocharging” the vaccinations to strengthen the economy, frustration with Congress’ occasional lack of quick action and how legislation can change that. Bradley also pointed toward the Cyber Security industry being a huge player in the future. Along these same lines, he cautioned how cyber terrorism is becoming a danger to local governments.

A “silver lining” in the pandemic he spotlighted was how businesses have discovered they could still operate even though employees are not physically together and how many have found connectivity between them has only grown.

Bradley concluded his words reminding attendees to continue to expect actions as much on the federal level as the local.

Giving the Economic Snapshot and Business Confidence Survey, Chamber President Diann Rogers illustrated where the city had been in the past year to where it is now. While the hospitality and hotel industry and general building showed clear decline due to the pandemic, positive numbers were recorded in housing and employment.

Echoing Bradley’s earlier words, Rogers felt there was “lots of optimism” for Rancho Cordova and data about business conditions both on a local, state and country wide reflected such.

In her presentation, City Economic Development Manager Amanda Norton covered new development and potential projects both in housing and commercial, economic development and recovery and new business on the horizon for Rancho Cordova.

Faced with an unprecedented economic situation, Norton demonstrated how the city rose to the challenge with programs such as a free food delivery service and assisting business owners navigating the labyrinthine processes to secure grants plus support during the ever changing safety protocols.

She also touched on the much awaited Civic Center along with other future developments like a Youth Center and a Little League facility. Completed and soon to be businesses/projects discussed included Starbucks, SF Market, Marriott Towne Place Suites and a new retirement residence.

As with so much in the past year, the Outlook was hardly conventional but with the Chamber delivered on its promise to support local business and show where the city is heading - and thankfully the direction points to a light at the end of the tunnel.

Event documents and video will be available in March at www.ranchocordova.org.