Suzanne Huffman, Executive Director of the Wells County Chamber of Commerce, is glad to see county boundaries begin to fade. “In the past, it has been individual counties thinking about their own people, not the big picture…I think the boundaries are down. They have been really made a lot less structured.” She attributes this to the 10-county joint effort that is the Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana. “I am very, very happy we are a part of the Regional Chamber and anything we can do [together] helps all of northeast Indiana.”
According to Suzanne, the Regional Chamber helps bring together smaller chambers to discuss issues and struggles and really “help each other go toward the same goal: to help all of northeast Indiana.” She calls the Regional Chamber a “venue,” a time and place for all the local chambers to meet and work together. Not only is this important because it helps counties pool resources and discuss current issues, but also because these counties are interdependent. “What happens in Auburn affects what happens in Wells,” said Huffman.
Both national and state legislation “trickle down and affect smaller counties.” The Regional Chamber has given Wells County, and other smaller chambers in the area, a larger voice on issues they feel are important to their citizens. “The Right to Work is something we have really taken action on. The [Regional] Chamber has really helped us since we don’t have the funds to do it locally… [This legislation] would help us tremendously and trickle down to the residents of Wells County.”
Being a part of the Regional Chamber also helps Huffman and other chambers work against and for other legislation and regulations their citizens take interest in. “A lot of regulations are hurting our industries. We hear that from a lot of big, even small industries. Our big issues are government regulations, county government reform, and Right to Work… Legislation in Indianapolis is streamlining county government to make it more efficient and we’re interested in that also… anytime we have more than one voice down in Indy, I think it helps with all the issues and initiatives.”
Individually, Suzanne has seen Wells County stay generally out of the economic stall. Partly due to the area’s diverse industries, she also attributes it to the structure of the county’s chamber. Wells’ Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development are together, like an umbrella organization. “We are a one-stop shop for industries who are looking to expand or looking to come to the area.”
