HERMANN –When the members of the Hermann Area Chamber of Commerce met last week for its biennial Award Banquet, they were gathering to anticipate what’s to come in the next two years as much as to mark what has taken place in the past two years.

“It has been two years since we last gathered for this banquet,” said Chamber Executive Director Melissa Lensing at last Tuesday night’s Gerald Engemann Memorial Awards Banquet. “Two years of growth. Two years of change. Two years of momentum,” she told the crowd gathered in the Hermann Hill Conference Center, Highway West.

“And what a two years it has been,” she said. “Over the past two years, the Hermann Area Chamber of Commerce has continued to grow – not just in membership, but in purpose and impact. We’ve welcomed new members – 20. We’ve celebrated ribbon cuttings and expansions. We’ve strengthened long-standing partnerships. We’ve advocated for local businesses. We’ve engaged in regional conversations that position the Hermann area in meaningful and strategic ways,” Lensing continued.

She noted the various organizations – public and private – that the Chamber has worked with during the past couple years in an effort to put the local business community in a position to take advantage of opportunities expected to arise from the substantial development taking place about 20-25 miles to the north in Montgomery County. Local business leaders are hoping the creation of two data centers – one by Google, the other by Amazon – will provide a chanced for the Hermann community to benefit in a variety of ways, from retail opportunities to a demand for housing to an increase in enrollment in the Gasconade County R-1 School District.

Indeed, it is that last part – student enrollment in R-1 – that has been at the heart of what has been happening on several fronts in the community in recent years. One organization, the Hermann Regional Economic Development (HRED) Corporation, was created a dozen years ago with the primary purpose of turning around an enrollment slide that has seen the number of students fall from more than 1,000 to about 750.

The organization’s board decided the best way to do that was to foster economic growth and development – a thus-far-elusive goal. But the proposed development of the industrial megasite near New Florence has given rise to a renewed optimism that the Hermann community can thrive on more than just its tourism industry – an industry that, as was seen in recent years, is only as strong as the next pandemic.

Lensing noted in her speech that the Chamber relies on many partners. “The Chamber’s work is not done in isolation. It is done in partnership. And over the last two years, that partnership has grown stronger than ever,” she said.

She pointed out the work being done by R-1 Superintendent Geoff Neill, who is a member of the Montgomery County Economic Development Council and represents HRED, R-1 and the City of Hermann. That organization is key to the development of the megasite. The R-1 District includes a portion of southern Montgomery County. She cited Neill’s “leadership and your commitment to regional collaboration.”

Lensing paid tribute to Susan Lenger and Ron Kraettli, the two local members of the board Greateer Montgomery County Port Authority – the agency that is designed to work for improved transportation options for the movement of goods coming out of the megasite. Lenger is a former Hermann alderman – and a candidate for that board again – while Kraettli, a resident of southern Montgomery County, is a member of the HRED board. “We are grateful for the work you are doing to strengthen our regional economic future,” she said.

The Chamber executive talked in detail about the organization’s capital campaign to put in place the Strategic Plan aimed at positioning the local business community for success in the years to come. Called the Rooted & Ready Strategic Plan, the blueprint is still in the early stages of development as the Chamber takes its message for support to a larger group of potential investors. The capital campaign’s goal is $1 million.

Lensing cited the comment of investor Trudy Busch Valentine, who outlined the hopes of those raising funds for the plan: “It will be great to see the progress that is made for this beautiful, well-lknown dtown to preserve its heritage, grow economically and grow with new businesses, homes and people.”

“That is exactly the balance we are pursuing,” Lensing told the crowd. “Preserve its heritage. Grow economically. Welcome new businesses, homes and people,” she said.

At the outset of the Chamber’s effort, she explained, it was determined that two parts of the community in particular must be strong if the community is to thrive in the coming years. “The answer was clear,” she said. “Our school district. And our rural hospital. Because those two institutions anchor everything else,” she said.

Indeed, the R-1 District and Hermann Area District Hospital are the community’s two largest employers.