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Are you ready for some fun? The recent warmer weather has us dreaming of sunny days in downtown Cincinnati, holding a cold drink, eating amazing food, and celebrating with our community. As the days of continuous warmer weather draw nearer, we are ramping up our planning efforts for our community festivals in 2023, and couldn't be more excited to welcome back Asian Food Fest, Taste of Cincinnati®, and Oktoberfest Zinzinnati®!
These beloved festivals, powered by so many attendees, really tell the Cincinnati story in unique ways. Last year, we were thrilled to bring back every one of our signature events, and it was beyond apparent the rest of you were ready as well as hundreds of thousands attended each event.
All three events are currently accepting applications for food vendors and entertainment. You can visit asianfoodfest.org, tasteofcincinnati.com, and oktoberfestzinzinnati.com to get all the application details.
We’re excited to carry our momentum from last year into 2023 as we celebrate our hometown, cultures, and cuisine while supporting dozens of local businesses!
Jill Meyer
CEO
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
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WE ARE MAKING BLACK HISTORY | DERRICK BRAZIEL
Derrick Braziel is the CEO and co-founder of Pata Roja Taqueria. Pata Roja provides high-quality street tacos, family-style taco kits and catering inspired by the culture and traditions of central Mexico
Previously, Derrick co-founded MORTAR, an organization dedicated to enabling historically marginalized entrepreneurs to start businesses, change communities and build generational wealth. Derrick’s work has led to recognition from the Indianapolis Star, YES! Magazine, Next City, Politico, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Essence Magazine and NBC Nightly News. He has also been named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for Social Entrepreneurs and the Cincinnati Business Courier's 40 under 40 list.
He is an Echoing Green and 2016-17 BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) Fellow, a 2018 Next City Vanguard and a 2019 Obama Foundation Fellow.
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CINCINNATI JOB GROWTH | 2022
A full year of monthly data for 2022 is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Cincinnati region added about 13,400 jobs, for an increase of about 1.2%, compared to a 3.2% growth rate in employment nationally. Why the difference? With a broad-based, established economy, the Cincinnati region tends to lag behind the United States in job growth, but also tends to have a softer landing when recessions hit, losing fewer jobs than the country as a whole. This makes for a steadily growing economy, without too many extreme ups and downs. However, there are other systemic factors at play as well. There is currently a very tight labor market nationally, with the unemployment rate at a 50-year low, but the unemployment rate has been even lower in the Cincinnati region for much of the year, sitting at 3.1% in December 2022. The
current environment of record-low unemployment makes it hard for employers to find talent.
Why is the unemployment rate in the Cincinnati region even lower than the national average? It’s partly because the Cincinnati region has a smaller share of prime working-age population adults than many metro areas. When you compare the Cincinnati region to twenty-one other metros across the country, Cincinnati has the fourth lowest share of prime working-age population. This is illustrated in the third figure below, taken from the forthcoming Regional Indicators Dashboard that the Chamber will be launching in the next few weeks, and illustrates the importance of the Chamber’s work in talent attraction and retention. To attract more prime working-age adults, we need to continue to build the reputation of the Cincinnati region as a place where you can live, work, and play—work that the Chamber is undertaking each and every day.
CINCINNATI REGION NONFARM PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT
NATIONAL & LOCAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (not seasonally adjusted)
Prime Working Age Population (25-54 Years Old)
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CHAMBER RELEASES REPORT ON FUNDING SIX TRANSFORMATIVE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, in partnership with the Cincinnati Business Committee, Cincinnati Regional Business Committee, and REDI Cincinnati released a strategic report that analyzes funding opportunities for six regional projects that have the opportunity to change the landscape of the Cincinnati region by leveraging federal investment made available by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
The projects are the Central Parkway Beautification between the West End and Over the Rhine, Completing the CROWN Urban Trail Loop, Creating a regional Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Strategy, the Fort Washington Way Lids in downtown Cincinnati, the I-71/75 & I-275 Interchange in Northern Kentucky, and the Millikin Way Interchange on I-75 in Butler County.
The report provides a detailed analysis of federal discretionary funding opportunities, investment forecasts, and strategic recommendations to position these projects for funding through a variety of federal grant programs from the US Department of Transportation.
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| Hands Only CPR Training
February 25, 2023 | 10:00-11:00 a.m. or 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Congratulation's to the Chamber's Senior Director of Sales & Engagement, Beth McNeill, on being nominated for Go Red for Women’s Woman of Impact campaign. As part of this year’s class of changemakers, she's brought together a national team of Uncommon Blessings who are working to make the greatest impact possible on women’s health. This weekend, Beth will be hosting a Hands-Only CPR Training at the American Red Cross located at 2111 Dana Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45207.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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Member Benefits 101
February 23, 2023 | 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Member Benefits 101 is the perfect opportunity for all types of businesses to learn about Chamber membership, how to get connected to your network of fellow Chamber members, and how to get engaged with the Chamber offerings that best benefit you and your business.
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Monthly Member Briefing
March 2, 2023 | 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Join us virtually at our next Monthly Member Briefing on Thursday, March 2nd at 8 a.m. with keynote speaker Col. Teresa A. Theetge, new Police Chief of the Cincinnati Police Department.
Following our keynote and Q&A, you'll hear from chamber member showcase companies. The program will conclude with updates from a featured chamber partner and a member of the Cincinnati Chamber team.
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Alumni Event | Breakfast Speed Networking
March 8, 2023 | 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Join us for coffee, breakfast (actual eggs and bacon and such and not just bagels!), and some fun speed networking with fellow Chamber alumni. The day will be facilitated by Gina Bonar of 5 Whys Marketing LLC.
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Regional Government Day
March 9, 2023 | 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Connect with elected officials and administrators from across the Cincinnati region and communicate your business' priorities.
At this half-day event, Chamber members can expect to hear from policy leaders about issues impacting their businesses, such as budgets, transportation, inclusion policies, housing and growth issues, regional collaboration, economic development and more.
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Hello Cincy Day
March 10, 2023 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hello Cincy Day is a customized immersion experience for Cincinnati newcomers to get an introduction to the Cincinnati region, connect with each other, to help them build a quality of place. The Cincinnati Chamber manages all logistics for this one-day session including meals, materials, transportation, parking and more.
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WE Speak: Women in Business Conquer the Secret to Wealth
April 12, 2023 | 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
This WE Speak is all about financial wellness. Financial health is a privilege everyone should be able to afford. Our panel features leaders who have broken the glass ceiling when it comes to standards around specifically financial wellness. Topics may include: debunking obstacle and myths regarding wealth, creating cultures of empowerment and financial equity, beginning your journey to building financial freedom, and more. Our panelists for this WE Speak include: Candice Matthews Brackeen, CEO & Founder of Lightship Foundation, Barbara A. Turner, Former President & CEO of Ohio National Financial Services, C ynthia Booth, CEO & Owner of Emerge Manufacturing.
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