Each year here at the Toledo Chamber following our Annual Meeting, we launch our Year in Review publication, recapping and commemorating the previous year’s biggest moments, events and news. The year 2020 was like no other, so, of course, the 2020 Year in Review is like no other.
The year 2020 began with incredible strength here in the Toledo Region; our businesses small and large were experiencing growth and upward momentum and we were optimistic about our region’s future. The Toledo Region made national news when entrepreneur and Oregon native Pete Kadens announced he would pay for all 2020 Scott High School graduates’ tuition and new development throughout the region was coming to a close including the redesign of Levis Commons downtown. However, in March, everything seemed to come screeching to a halt.
Due to the pandemic and state-mandated orders and restrictions on businesses to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Toledo – alongside the rest of the country and the world – experienced incredible hardship and uncertainty. Then, when George Floyd was killed on May 25, Black Americans, including here in Toledo, marched for social justice and racial equity, forcing many Americans to open their eyes to a different yet equally urgent problem: racism.
This was in the midst of an already tough year, as we were experiencing an increasingly contentious presidential election on Nov. 3.
Still, Toledoans found a way to come together while remaining socially distanced. Here at the chamber, we teamed up with various organizations throughout the region including our Small Business Development Center to connect small businesses with grants and funding to keep their lights on and their employees on the payroll. Around the region, citizens of all races and backgrounds took to the streets to make their voices heard on racism, and to fight for equity. We all came together to support our small businesses, opening our wallets to help the businesses we love in a difficult time.
The Toledo Region is only getting better, despite a difficult year. Exciting new development projects are cropping up every day to make Toledo a better place to live, work and play, including the Glass City Metropark, the over $10 million renovation of the Summit Street corridor, the new Amazon facility in Rossford and more.
This year’s Year in Review is dedicated to the idea that though 2020 was incredibly difficult, Toledo was still a center for growth, prosperity and optimism, and we were able to find moments of joy and togetherness. And, of course, there’s so much to look forward to in 2021 and beyond here in northwest Ohio.
Here at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, we look forward to continue to serve our business community, helping to create a more prosperous future for everyone in our region. We are so excited to continue our mission to advocate, connect and lead.
We hope you enjoy the 2020 edition of Year in Review, and we wish you a fantastic – and hopefully more precedented – 2021.
Due to the pandemic and state-mandated orders and restrictions on businesses to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Toledo – alongside the rest of the country and the world – experienced incredible hardship and uncertainty. Then, when George Floyd was killed on May 25, Black Americans, including here in Toledo, marched for social justice and racial equity, forcing many Americans to open their eyes to a different yet equally urgent problem: racism.
This was in the midst of an already tough year, as we were experiencing an increasingly contentious presidential election on Nov. 3.
Still, Toledoans found a way to come together while remaining socially distanced. Here at the chamber, we teamed up with various organizations throughout the region including our Small Business Development Center to connect small businesses with grants and funding to keep their lights on and their employees on the payroll. Around the region, citizens of all races and backgrounds took to the streets to make their voices heard on racism, and to fight for equity. We all came together to support our small businesses, opening our wallets to help the businesses we love in a difficult time.
The Toledo Region is only getting better, despite a difficult year. Exciting new development projects are cropping up every day to make Toledo a better place to live, work and play, including the Glass City Metropark, the over $10 million renovation of the Summit Street corridor, the new Amazon facility in Rossford and more.
This year’s Year in Review is dedicated to the idea that though 2020 was incredibly difficult, Toledo was still a center for growth, prosperity and optimism, and we were able to find moments of joy and togetherness. And, of course, there’s so much to look forward to in 2021 and beyond here in northwest Ohio.
Here at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, we look forward to continue to serve our business community, helping to create a more prosperous future for everyone in our region. We are so excited to continue our mission to advocate, connect and lead.
We hope you enjoy the 2020 edition of Year in Review, and we wish you a fantastic – and hopefully more precedented – 2021.
RSS Feed
