At the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, our year starts with local businesses sharing a lot of optimism about where our community and region are headed. While we cannot discount the challenges we face, the success of many local employers confirms the upward trajectory that business recovery and growth have been on over the past year.

Last week, the Florida Chamber Foundation shared an insightful economic update that highlighted the success Florida has had in recovering from the economic impacts of the pandemic. 56 of Florida’s 67 counties now have more jobs than they did in February 2020 – Manatee and Sarasota included. In 2021 as a whole, Florida created 1 out of 13 new jobs in the country, but over the past four months that has accelerated to 1 in every 4 new jobs being created in our state.

Our $1.23 trillion GDP means that Florida, if it were a country, is now the 15th-largest economy in the world. We are the third-largest state in the U.S. and 1,000 new residents are moving here every day. Growth like this creates plenty of opportunities and helps mitigate some of the uncertainty businesses are experiencing, but it also brings challenges.

With the start of the Florida legislative session, the Manatee Chamber is advocating on behalf of our business community on priorities that include transportation, water quality, workforce development, education, tourism, economic development, housing, health care, and more. We spent several days in Tallahassee meeting with our elected officials, legislative staff, and agency leadership to bring the voice of our community’s businesses directly to policymakers. Now, we will follow bills through the process and remind our delegation about our priorities.

Some of the most acute challenges local businesses have shared with the Manatee Chamber include finding the right talent to fill open positions, the lack of workforce housing, supply chain interruptions, and continued uncertainty presented by the pandemic. These issues are complex, with no single or easy solution, but we can continue to make progress by being a catalyst for leadership.

One important way our Chamber convenes thought leadership on issues is through our approximately 20 committees and task forces, including those that focus on the voice and vision of young professionals in our area. It is an important perspective to include as we plan for the future. If you would like to know more about the amazing things young professionals are accomplishing in our region, I invite you to join us for the Manatee Young Professionals MVP Awards celebration on Thursday, Feb. 17.

I am constantly reassured and reinvigorated by the impact of local leadership. I see it every day at the Chamber when people come together to tackle an issue. None have to give of their time or expertise, but they all do it because of a deep commitment to community and a conviction that by working together we can make the place we live, work, play, and raise our families even better. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with its added emphasis on service to the community, Dr. King’s words ring true: “Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service.”

I urge you to seek out new ways to serve in 2022. As our community, nation, and world are called upon to respond and adapt to overcome challenges and seize opportunities, we all can make a difference.

Jacki Dezelski is president and CEO of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce and has been with the organization since 1996. She was the 2015 Florida Chamber Professional of the Year and has served on the board of several local nonprofits. She has a bachelor's degree in fine arts and a master's in business administration from the University of Florida and is a Manatee High School graduate. Contact her at JackiD@ManateeChamber.com.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: JACKI DEZELSKI: Job growth creating new opportunities, challenges