Newsmaker Q&A: An influence on job-creation

In light of a slow economic recovery and an unemployment rate with room to improve, the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce has decided to kick things into high gear. John Carroll, president of Ed Carroll Motor Co. and longtime Fort Collins resident, was selected as chairman of the board of directors for the chamber for 2013. As a local business owner at the top of one of the area’s most influential business organizations, we asked what the city has to gain from having Carroll in the driver’s seat.

Question: How will your experience and business acumen as a car-dealership owner help you in your role as the chamber chairman?

Answer: I’m just a local small business owner who is volunteering to help with the oversight of a very important community asset: the Fort Collins Area Chamber.

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Q: As a local business owner (particularly of a business with tax revenue as substantial as your dealership) and chairman of the chamber, there could be the temptation to use your influence to promote policies and decisions that benefit business interests vs. the good of the wider community. How will you remain objective in your decision-making?

A: As a chamber, we do represent the interests of our 1,000-plus members. These member businesses range from having a single employee to being large, multi-national companies. First and foremost, the chamber is here to support a business climate that creates jobs in the Fort Collins area. By supporting jobs, we are supporting the entire community.

Q: Does the chamber have any new policies/plans in the works for dealing with businesses that produce/sell marijuana?

A: We are seeking clarification for our membership on the conflict between the federal and state laws. Our membership is looking for answers primarily in how to handle employment situations.

Q: Chamber CEO David May said that you are strategic, and that you understand what the chamber is trying to accomplish in the long-term to influence the economic direction of the community and region. What exactly is the chamber trying to accomplish long term?

A: The chamber is launching FortCollinsWorks.com in just a few months. Fort Collins Works will lay out our jobs agenda, which is a primary piece of our strategic plan. It’s too detailed to go into here, but it’s a roadmap for elected officials, city staff, the business community and the public at large. This plan will show how these groups can come together to continue to move our local economy forward. Let me give you an example that’s been well covered in the press recently: Woodward. A critical part of our local economy are these base, or primary, employers. Woodward is a net exporter of goods and services. That means that Woodward exports virtually all of their products and services outside Northern Colorado and brings back in fresh capital. There is a lot of competition for these base employers out there. It is very important for all of us – the city, the business community and the public at large – to retain this Woodward expansion right here in Fort Collins.

Q: After a long season of recession and excruciating slow growth, what hope can you offer small business struggling to make it in Northern Colorado?

A: This is the kind of advocacy that the chamber brings to the community as a whole. A Woodward expansion means jobs. It means new jobs at Woodward itself. It means construction jobs in the short term. It means new jobs at restaurants, hotels and retail shops. The Fort Collins Area Chamber is the main community advocate for the private sector. If you are a small business owner, what can the chamber do for you? We will continue to advocate for jobs, which will make our whole community stronger. If you are an employee for a member business, we are also advocating for you.

– Maggie Shafer