When you walk into the offices of Greater Winston-Salem Inc. in the 525@vine building in the Innovation Quarter, you might notice a few things that are different. The renovated space, which was part of the chamber’s winning application to become Chamber of the Year in 2024, is largely the same. After all, you don’t change “award-winning,” do you?
But if you enter the conference room, you’ll see the start of an impressive lineup. The room now boasts a sizable representation of Winston-Salem sports teams. Framed jerseys from the likes of The Dash, Disco Turkeys, Winston-Salem State University, Wake Forest University, and Salem City FC grace the walls, all emblazoned with the Greater Winston-Salem Inc. logo.
Why the outpouring of civic pride?
It is all due to the hard work that the Greater Winston-Salem Inc. team has done to grow Winston-Salem into one of the best mid-sized cities in the South–hard work that was recognized last year with the Chamber of the Year award.
But like all good blockbusters, Greater Winston-Salem Inc. isn’t content to rest on its laurels. In the sequel, the organization is investing heavily in the future of Winston-Salem holistically, not just the business side of the city. They’re building a foundation for moving forward that they hope everyone in the city can buy into.
Celebrating as a Community
In the year after winning Chamber of Year, Greater Winston-Salem Inc. has done its share of celebrating. There were first pitches, community recognitions, and ribbon cuttings. What surprised the team at the chamber of commerce, however, was the outpouring of support from the community at large.
“There’s been a sense of community pride around it,” says Mark Owens, president and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem Inc. “We wanted every small business, any size business to be like we’re a part of a community that’s going the right direction. And I think that’s been the biggest value and the biggest win out of this award.”
The award has also given the team a renewed sense of purpose in the work that they are doing to propel Winston-Salem to top the list of best mid-sized cities in the Southeast, which includes creating a more equitable community and making the city one of the best places to raise a family. There’s much more work to be done.
“We have felt the support from this community at a level that we didn’t know was there,” Owens says. “And it has motivated our team and our board to buckle up and take on bigger projects because it has shown what an impact our organization can make. It has inspired us to go further and push harder because it matters.”
What’s Next? Being the Best Mid-Sized City
If you’re an award-winning chamber of commerce with a super-motivated team, what issues do you tackle next?
How about all of them?
The goal for Greater Winston-Salem Inc. has always been making Winston-Salem the best mid-sized city in the Southeast, but that doesn’t happen with one award or simply continuing what the city is already doing. It means taking a good, hard look at the city and seeing what it needs to move forward into that vision.
A goal like that takes a plan. And Greater Winston-Salem Inc. is investing heavily in making that plan–it’s the next chapter for the organization.
“We are embarking on a community strategy process with a consulting firm to assess where Winston-Salem needs to be in the next 5, 10, 15 years,” Owens says. “And this is not a business only plan; it’s a strategic action plan, a community vision plan.”
In August, Greater Winston-Salem Inc. and Visit Winston-Salem announced the launch of its Strategic Action Plan project, which it will be working on for the next year or so, with the collaboration of two outside consulting firms with experience in helping cities assess needs.
“We will be going around to all parts of Forsyth County and Winston-Salem, to residents, citizens, businesses, nonprofits, etc. and asking, ‘What’s working in Winston? What’s not? Where are areas we can improve, where are areas that we need more intention or areas that are thriving?’” Owens says.
To achieve the holistic view of Winston-Salem that they believe to be necessary for moving the city forward, Greater Winston-Salem Inc. is partnering with Visit Winston-Salem on the project. Their partnership on the joint project will include a look at tourism in the city and how that also plays into developing Winston-Salem and enhancing the quality of life for its residents.
The project will cover more than just business concerns; it will solicit feedback on everything from safety issues to housing needs to economic concerns. And while the strategic action plan will actively seek input from the business community, Greater Winston-Salem Inc. wants to allow anyone the opportunity to provide a perspective.
“Traditionally, the only voices in this kind of project would be only elected officials, but we see this is a good way for the residents and businesses to really speak into that plan,” Owens says.
To get as many voices as possible into the project, not only will they be including as many stakeholders as possible, but they will also be setting up ways for the public to include their feedback and engagement as well through the Greater Winston-Salem Inc. website.
Why Make This Investment?
A strategic action plan of this magnitude is not the typical activity of a chamber of commerce. It takes a hefty investment in time, money, and resources to pull off something like this. So why is Greater Winston-Salem Inc. taking on this project?
“A lot of chambers and economic development groups are business only focused,” Owens says. “What we’re seeing in our industry is that chambers that also engage the residents and the lifestyle elements of a community are the new wave of economic development organizations.”
As the former Chamber of the Year, of course the organization wants to be on the cutting edge of economic development trends, but the group is also committed to making Winston-Salem a great place to live, not just a great place to own a business.
“Our board is willing to invest deeply into this project to try to help Winston-Salem reach our potential of being a top mid-sized city,” Owens says.
With such an ambitious goal for the city, getting the lay of the land is an important first step.
“The strategic action plan is a big lift, but it is also the most important thing we can do because if we don’t get that foundation right, all the other work and efforts that we are doing don’t have a clear path and a clear vision,” Owens says.
“I think it’s the most impactful thing we can do to help shape the direction of our community,” he continues.
A Plan to Become the Best Mid-Sized City in the Southeast
A project of this magnitude will take some time to accomplish–Greater Winston-Salem Inc. is expecting the project to take between 12-16 months. But what will there be to show for it?
At the end of the project, there will be a report, a big report. It’s something called a foundation report, which will be based on the data-gathering that they’ve done, with a lot of specificity from conversations and feedback received.
But the foundation report won’t be just a summary of feedback, it will be action-oriented.
“It is a significant report, and it is not just about where we are,” Owens says. “It will also give the next three, four, or five things you need to do.”
These action items might be about any aspect of the Winston-Salem community, from as granular as improving lighting on sidewalks downtown or specific strategic relationships to build for the school system.
“It will have action to it, and that’s imperative to success,” Owens says. “It can’t be a plan that sits on a shelf. It has to be something that our council, our county, and then our business community says, ‘Yeah, we’re going to use this.”
The foundation report should provide guidance and direction for a wide swath of organizations, so that they can enact it in their sphere of influence, should they want to.
“It’s not creating a plan just for Greater Winston-Salem Inc. to implement. It’s a community plan that hopefully our foundation and other nonprofits and businesses can adopt,” Owens says. “I think a lot of people are wanting to make Winston-Salem the best place possible, but we’re maybe not always rowing in the same direction and hopefully this will get us a little bit closer to that.”
Not a Foregone Conclusion
There’s a lot of excitement about the strategic action plan and what it will uncover about the city. The team at Greater Winston-Salem Inc. is deliberately not planning for any specific outcomes.
“I want our community to feel a part of this plan and feel that their voice is really heard,” Owens says. “There is no designated outcome already for this plan. We don’t know what it will be. We have some educated guesses, but we’re going to listen.”
The outpouring of support from the Winston-Salem community over the past year has motivated Greater Winston-Salem Inc. to take on such a large undertaking, and the team wants to make sure that their community has ownership in what comes next.
“We’ve said internally that we set a bar as being the best in the business, and that’s our bar,” Owens says. “Whether we win an award or not, we’re going to try to stay at that level and continue to challenge our community to join us.”
To learn more about Greater Winston-Salem Inc., visit the chamber’s website or meet them and their neighbors through a tour of the 525@vine building in the iQ.
