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Tony IannelliSpecial to The Morning Call I love summer. I love the warmth. I love seeing trees transform from brown lifeless sticks to beautiful, green statues. I love seeing flowers spring up from the ground. I love playing golf, riding my motorcycle and waking up with the sun and the singing birds. It's just a great time of the year that feels vibrant and full of opportunities.? Don't get me wrong, the fall is OK, too. Football games, cool nights and Halloween and Thanksgiving. Winter has snow, skiing, Christmas — it’s not too bad either. I love that Pennsylvania offers us four seasons, but to me, summer trumps the other three and it’s not even close. It reminds me that we've gone through monumental seasons of change here in the Lehigh Valley, particularly in economics and quality of life. The 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were good to us, as we benefited from the Industrial Revolution. We had lots of good-paying jobs in factories across the Lehigh Valley, and the cost of living was pretty darn low. People were gainfully employed, earned a decent living, could buy a beautiful home for well under $100,000 and make a good life. The middle class prospered right along with everyone else.? The 1980s and 1990s, well, not so much. Many manufacturers either closed or left for alternate U.S. regions and countries with lower-wage demands. We lost traditional good-paying jobs. Our cities took steps backward as Main Street retailers closed or left and companies moved offices to the suburbs, leaving our downtowns in reinvention mode.? I could go on, but here's the good news. A new season is dawning here in the Lehigh Valley. Manufacturing is coming back at a more rapid pace than I think we imagined. Our economy is more diversified now than ever before. We are creating jobs in multiple sectors, including health care, tourism, hospitality and more. And our Main Streets are alive and bustling with restaurants and businesses.? Our Main Streets are alive and bustling with restaurants and businesses. Besides the economic expansion, our quality of life is better than ever. New entertainment venues are bringing in nationally ranked acts that we have never seen before in the Lehigh Valley. There are more quality restaurants than one has the ability to frequent within a year’s time. Our parks and trails are filled with people and growing. And housing is still reasonably affordable and the cost of living still reasonable. So what do I think we need to do to continue in this positive direction? Support a tax structure that allows business to grow and create jobs. Keep improving our infrastructure so people and goods can freely travel. Make sure the Lehigh Valley is a place where minority, gay and all segments of our community feel welcome and encouraged to lead. Ensure our downtowns, including our smaller communities like Northampton, Slatington, Emmaus, and Hellertown, are supported and their Main Streets prosper. There's so much I could add, but allow me to close by saying this to all of you: Please, please stay involved! Don't be an innocent bystander, give back. How do you do that? You can contribute financially. Or run a successful business providing jobs. Or volunteer your valuable time to your community or nonprofit. Just give. Don't take for granted the great region in which we live. Let's work together to continue nurturing our latest season and enjoy it for a long, prosperous future.? Tony Iannelli is president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at tonyi@lehighvalleychamber.org. Read the original article here.
Tony IannelliSpecial to The Morning Call I love summer. I love the warmth. I love seeing trees transform from brown lifeless sticks to beautiful, green statues. I love seeing flowers spring up from the ground. I love playing golf, riding my motorcycle and waking up with the sun and the singing birds. It's just a great time of the year that feels vibrant and full of opportunities.? Don't get me wrong, the fall is OK, too. Football games, cool nights and Halloween and Thanksgiving. Winter has snow, skiing, Christmas — it’s not too bad either. I love that Pennsylvania offers us four seasons, but to me, summer trumps the other three and it’s not even close. It reminds me that we've gone through monumental seasons of change here in the Lehigh Valley, particularly in economics and quality of life. The 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were good to us, as we benefited from the Industrial Revolution. We had lots of good-paying jobs in factories across the Lehigh Valley, and the cost of living was pretty darn low. People were gainfully employed, earned a decent living, could buy a beautiful home for well under $100,000 and make a good life. The middle class prospered right along with everyone else.? The 1980s and 1990s, well, not so much. Many manufacturers either closed or left for alternate U.S. regions and countries with lower-wage demands. We lost traditional good-paying jobs. Our cities took steps backward as Main Street retailers closed or left and companies moved offices to the suburbs, leaving our downtowns in reinvention mode.? I could go on, but here's the good news. A new season is dawning here in the Lehigh Valley. Manufacturing is coming back at a more rapid pace than I think we imagined. Our economy is more diversified now than ever before. We are creating jobs in multiple sectors, including health care, tourism, hospitality and more. And our Main Streets are alive and bustling with restaurants and businesses.? Our Main Streets are alive and bustling with restaurants and businesses. Besides the economic expansion, our quality of life is better than ever. New entertainment venues are bringing in nationally ranked acts that we have never seen before in the Lehigh Valley. There are more quality restaurants than one has the ability to frequent within a year’s time. Our parks and trails are filled with people and growing. And housing is still reasonably affordable and the cost of living still reasonable. So what do I think we need to do to continue in this positive direction?
There's so much I could add, but allow me to close by saying this to all of you: Please, please stay involved! Don't be an innocent bystander, give back. How do you do that? You can contribute financially. Or run a successful business providing jobs. Or volunteer your valuable time to your community or nonprofit. Just give. Don't take for granted the great region in which we live. Let's work together to continue nurturing our latest season and enjoy it for a long, prosperous future.? Tony Iannelli is president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at tonyi@lehighvalleychamber.org.