Mark Hilliard, President, Indiana County Chamber of Commerce

Mark Hilliard, president of Indiana County Chamber of Commerce, sat down with Invest: to discuss new partnerships with local universities and hospitals, new local job opportunities in tech, and how the chamber is continuing to support economic development and community growth in Indiana County. 

What changes over the past year impacted the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce and in what ways? 

We are going through a transitory period in the economy. We are currently on the upswing, but we recently had to close a large power plant here in the community. We have seen a lot of progress in the healthcare industry. Indiana University of Pennsylvania has been working to establish a college of Osteopathic Medicine. There have been partnerships created with the university and Indiana Regional Medical Center, our local, independently owned hospital. The hospital has also created a new behavioral health center. Mental health has been a huge issue everywhere and I believe that this facility will be beneficial to our region as a whole. The technology and energy industries are continuing to grow and I foresee Indiana County taking advantage of these emerging opportunities. We have great people and we are very good at collaborating with one another. If a business is looking to come here, there are multiple groups and organizations that are working together to help that business succeed. We have a great working relationship with the county commissioners and state legislatures and have been known for that across the state. 

Have there been any developments in building connections or attracting tech related opportunities in the county? 

The former city generating station, the coal fired power plant facility, recently announced that it is transitioning into a natural gas facility and will also house a number of different data centers. There are many new opportunities that have been generated by these data centers and Al. The next decade is going to be focused on that project and those opportunities. This is one of the largest projects that Pennsylvania has seen in a long time. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) has also developed a tremendous drone program and it has been making a lot of advancements recently. We have a number of great tech schools that are introducing students to the cybersecurity field, which is a field in need of people and presents many opportunities for young people. Identifying students that have the skill sets for these new tech jobs, providing them with programs and an education, and encouraging them to potentially work at these data centers has been a goal of ours. 

Has there been meaningful progress with the workforce development initiatives you’ve launched through schools and community partners? 

We are continuing to head in a positive direction. We are seeing a lot more career readiness programs in our county school districts, as well as a unified focus across our public school districts on trying to find ways to prepare our students for whatever pathways they choose. We, and many others, are still facing population challenges. Our population is projected to grow over the next 10 years and that should help our workforce shortages. It is still our responsibility to make sure that there are workforce programs in place to encourage our students to stay in the county. Ensuring that we have the right training programs in place for the potential workforce of the future is still a huge priority for us. Workforce related issues are still our primary challenge for all of our businesses, but more so for our smaller businesses. Providing the right incentives and offering opportunities is key. 

What efforts are underway to attract investment and retain existing businesses through these public-private partnerships? 

We are blessed to be in the senate majority leaders’ district. We also have the minority chair of the house appropriations committee. Having leaders from both the house and senate on the state side right here in our county has been helpful. They are both always finding ways to help this area grow. We have a great line of communication with our county commissioners as well. Most of them attend our chamber board meetings where we have open discussions about  different projects and initiatives. If there is a challenge that arises, we have easy access to these people to ask for guidance or advice. We are a part of a group here in Indiana County called the Center for Economic Operations, which is made up of the Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana County Tourist Bureau, the Indiana Development Corporation, IUP, and the county commissioners. We meet every two weeks to discuss various projects and initiatives that are in progress throughout the county. 

Looking ahead, what key goals or initiatives will the chamber be focusing on to continue supporting economic development and community growth in Indiana County? 

We are trying to find ways to connect people with the information that they need. If they need assistance in a particular area that we are not able to provide, there are a lot of resources that we can connect them to. We pride ourselves on being an organization that can help connect people. Continuing to find ways to provide our local businesses with the information that they need to help their business grow is key. In addition, identifying the potential careers that will be needed over the next decade is a big priority for us. The new projects that are coming into the area are bringing new opportunities. Identifying what those careers are and what skillsets they will need is important so we can start working with our schools to create the appropriate training and educational opportunities. Better preparing our students will help to ensure that when they graduate these job opportunities are readily available for them.