Chamber Looks To Future with Legislative Plan
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At a reception in December 2008, the Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce gave the community a special Christmas gift – a 2009 Legislative Plan designed to ensure that Boerne recognizes its challenges and meets them cooperatively.
“For the first time ever, we unveiled a written Legislative Plan and presented it to all our representatives at the local, state and federal level. We’ve always worked on issues, but we’ve never put it in a formalized plan and presented it to the public,” explains Paula White, chamber president.
The plan is a project of the chamber’s Government Affairs Council and focuses on four areas: water and natural resources, reasonable housing costs, education and transportation. The categories were determined by a survey of the chamber membership.
“What could our community look like as a model community? Instead of just taking the problems as they come, one by one, we decided to think a little bit further out,” White says.
For example, the Legislative Plan sets forth a preliminary strategy to help encourage salary-appropriate housing options for teachers, police officers and others in similar income brackets. White notes that Albany Engineered Composites is set to complete an expansion in 2009 that will add 300 jobs. “We want those employees to live and work in our community,” she says.
On the transportation issue, since state and federal funds remain tight for transportation projects, the chamber spearheaded formation of the Kendall County Transportation Alliance to collectively identify the community’s most pressing transportation needs and present a united front when requesting funding. White says that’s been well-received by the Texas Department of Transportation.
The Legislative Plan encourages more business involvement in education at all levels and recommends more higher education options in the Hill Country. “Those things are happening,” White says.
Beginning with the fall 2010 semester, Texas Tech University will offer Kendall County high school students dual enrollment for some honors classes, meaning they may earn up 30 hours of college credit before they begin their college career, White says. Also, Angelo State University is set to offer a master’s in education and nursing studies online for Boerne area residents.
The chamber’s interest in education is well-known in the community. Proceeds from its annual golf tournament and Heart of Boerne Awards and Auction Gala each January fund three $2,000 scholarships for college-bound Kendall County students. The chamber also sponsors a mentoring program that pairs local business people with high school students in vocational studies.
Chamber members enjoy a host of other activities, including a monthly Lunchbox Lesson and Networking Breakfast, as well as two Business After Hours mixers each month.
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
