Ever wonder how Chattanooga got to be so cool? We’d love to imagine the Rock City gnomes sprinkling fairy dust all over the city to magically transform it, but those gnomes aren’t real, y’all. So, that can’t be it.

Local leaders + community members put a lot of planning into making Chattanooga a place we are proud to call home. One of the biggest, most recent planning efforts comes from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, which has included hundreds of people + organizations in the work, so it’s reflective of the entire community.

Chattanooga Climbs is the chamber’s five-year plan that developed out of goals established during the Velocity 2040 visioning process.

https://youtu.be/SGWdL3lOy70

Goals

Become future-ready, ensuring Chattanooga/Hamilton County residents have the skills they need for productive careers + a high quality of life
Provide mobility for all, making sure the economy is full of high-quality jobs that are accessible to all residents
Ensure the Gig City wins by pushing the city’s entrepreneurial momentum to peak with startups and small businesses driving economic growth
Have an inclusive economy + collaborative leaders who engage in a transparent dialogue + encourage civic engagement among residents

These are the four broad goals to accomplish by 2025. | Chattanooga Chamber

Examples

These are a few examples of what leaders hope to accomplish in five years.

Invest in a new UTC health care and biosciences facility; the industry is resilient during economic downturns, offers a variety of careers
Develop a new venture capital fund to focus on locally grown startups, entrepreneurs
Start a retraining program for people who have been incarcerated
Embed training programs in low-income/high-unemployment areas to remove barriers of employment

Tracking by the numbers

These are the metrics leaders will use to see if they are meeting the goals. | Chattanooga Chamber

These are the metrics leaders will use to see if they are meeting the goals. | Chattanooga Chamber

Quoteworthy

President and CEO, Vision Hospitality Group Mitch Patel on getting involved:
“Some may think their voice isn’t heard, but we are listening. I encourage the Chattanooga community to raise their hand and approach me, approach us – the Chattanooga Chamber leadership, and say, ‘I would like to help.’”

Chattanooga Chamber President and CEO Christy Gillenwater on partnerships:
“The chamber alone can’t execute. It takes hundreds of partners...this plan emulates the need to work together.”

Vice president of talent initiatives for the Chattanooga Chamber Molly Blankenship on looking ahead:
"Our renaissance is a story that defines us...while that story rings very true, there’s a need to lean heavier on the gas pedal and look at the windshield of what comes next, especially given the economy now.”

How to help

Every single person can help this plan move forward, Gillenwater said. And you don’t have to get all formal about it. It’s as simple as a smile or representing Chattanooga well, she said.

You never know if you’re smiling at a prospective business owner or someone who’s thinking about moving here.

If you do want to get more formally involved, click “learn more” on this page + fill out the form.

Poll

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