And 20 years marks a good time to look both back and forward.

The current iteration of the Chamber isn’t the first one — the WCCBI was a result of a merger between the Warren County Chamber of Commerce and the Warren County Development Association.

WCCBI President/CEO Jim Decker said the community’s business leaders had identified confusion what who was doing what as well as duplication issues. Solving those issues took the form of the WCCBI with a new organization and a “retooling of the focuses and missions of those two organizations.”

The situation on the ground county’s economic ground since that time has changed considerably.

Photos from the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry This year marks the 20th anniversary since the creation of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry. Much has changed in those 20 years with the focus now on supporting and highlighting the county’s existing businesses and organizations. That’s taken the form of recognitions like this - President/CEO Jim Decker presenting YMCA Executive Director Thad Turner a Growth & Expansion Award in 2021 - as well as developing an Elevating Nonprofit Initiative aimed at supporting the county’s non-profit organizations.

“Twenty years ago, we were in a position running about 10 percent unemployment,” Decker said. “There was a bigger focus and demand on securing new employment opportunities.”

The current unemployment range? It varies between 3.5 and four percent, making the pitch to prospective new employers difficult because of the lack of available workers.

The chamber’s efforts have shifted as a result.

“(There is) more of a focus on saving the employers we have, making sure we don’t lose any other employers,” Decker said. “(We are) focused on population growth rather than employer growth. It’s been a huge shift. We’re not out looking to recruit a lot of new businesses.”

“We continue to look forward to serving our community as a whole,” John Papalia, director of chamber operations, explained. “(We are) fortunate to be that resource that people can go to for assistance.

“Listening to our membership is our big thing,” he stressed, noting that the Elevation Non-Profits is one such example of “how we can listen and react and serve our community.”

Papalia also highlighted the “quality of life” events and activities they coordinate, such as Welcome to Warren and Jakes Rocks Trail Fest.

And the WCCBI board has “reconfigured itself,” Decker said, focusing on a three-committee structure — community development, economic development and finance.

He said the Community Development committee is “focusing on relationship building” and identifying ways to support projects in communities outside of the City of Warren. Economic development is focusing on business expansion and solidification with some effort put into recruitment and workforce development.

“It allows us to focus on projects and initiatives,” Decker said, allowing the Chamber to “make sure we are putting our resources in the right area…. We can’t do everything we want to do (so we) got a little better at prioritizing.”

He added that they are “engaging more directly… with businesses across the county” to “remain a really responsible and meaningful entity within the county.”

So what will the next 20 years look like?

“I think it seems the remote worker phenomenon is not going away,” he explained. “(There is) more freedom in the employment area. We’re taking advantage of that has a community,” noting that half a dozen couples have moved to Warren County in the last two years because “they have the ability to do that.”

“It offers us a new opportunity,” he added, but also challenges related to housing stock and ensuring the area “can provide all the things these folks want and need.”

That’s driving the Chamber’s engagement in the Wilds are Working initiative which will bring five families to the community for a month later this year.

“We have the opportunity to recruit them directly,” Decker said. “More importantly, even if we don’t hold on to any of them, we get their insights and they’re coming from all over the country…. Someone that immerses themselves in the community can speak to us honestly… that honest assessment, you can’t pay for that.”

Another piece of the future appears to center on embracing outdoor recreation opportunities.

As one example, Decker said that the “tide has changed” on a resort proposal for Kinzua Beach. “If we can get some federal support, (you) could see a significant transformation in the next five years.”

Another piece of that development is the Warren riverfront.

“We’ll see positive movement there,” he said, which “offers an opportunity to transform the whole dynamic of our downtown.”