The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce reviewed the gains the region made in 2019 at its recent annual meeting.

Last year, Omaha landed 36 projects worth over $1 billion and over 2,300 jobs, including 1,700 new jobs for the region.

“2019 was a pretty remarkable year,” said David Brown, chamber president and CEO.

Brown reviewed a presentation last Thursday at the CHI Health Center Omaha at the chamber’s 2019 annual meeting. The presentation covered people, places, business growth and core services – the focus areas for the chamber.

“We can accomplish so much when we work together, so let’s work together,” Brown said.

Last year, the Omaha chamber launched both the Commitment to Opportunity, Diversity and Equity (CODE) and Greater Omaha Worklab (GrOW) programs to help grow the regional workforce.

“We continue to be at the forefront of leadership development,” Brown said, touting the annual Leadership Omaha program.

The regional economic development partnership added Otoe County last fall, and the chamber has worked on a regional transportation strategy, Brown said.

“We continued support to invest in small business and startups through the startup collaborative, the kitchen council and the reach program,” he said. “These unique programs empowered entrepreneurs to realize their dreams and do more than just earn a living.”

In addition to discussing the region’s successes, the chamber presented several individual awards at the annual meeting.

The U.S. Strategic Command was the 2019 Headliners of a Year – as the subject of almost 13,000 media stories since Jan. 1, 2019, according to a tally by Universal Information Services. U.S. Stratcom opened its new headquarters this past year at Offutt Air Force Base near Bellevue.

Kenneth E. Stinson, chairman emeritus of Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc., and Mogens C. Bay, chairman of Valmont Industries Inc., both were recognized as Volunteers of the Year for efforts on the Riverfront Revitalization Project.

UMB Bank’s vice president of commercial banking, Jason Gustafson, received the 2019 Chairman’s Award of Excellence. He co-founded the Elkhorn Optimist Club and has served as an active chamber volunteer for eight years.

Find a copy of the chamber’s 2019 scorecard and annual report online at bit.ly/omnear2019.