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More than 3,300 jobs have been created in Fort Smith over the past two years, with the single largest jobs announcement in the state occurring in Fort Smith, according to the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Fort Smith’s transportation and logistics, manufacturing, health care, higher education and customer service sectors, as well as the Air National Guard 188th Wing, were highlighted for more than 620 members at the Fort Smith Convention Center during the chamber’s annual meeting Thursday.

An economic development report for the past two years was made with an emphasis on the city’s international connections to South America, Europe and Japan, in addition to $429 million in capital investments made in Fort Smith’s businesses.

Last year’s annual meeting was dedicated to celebration of the chamber’s 125th anniversary.

For the past five months, Fort Smith was at the top of the Arkansas Tech University Economic Index. Traffic at the Fort Smith Regional Airport, an economic indicator, has caught up and is set to surpass pre-recession levels.

“I can say without hesitation that Fort Smith’s best days are ahead, not behind,” keynote speaker U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, said. “When you consider the confluence of systems — river, rail, air, and interstates — and available energy resources, the Fort Smith region is uniquely situated to be the center of a resurgence of American productivity.”

Commenting on the region’s growth within the energy sector, Greg Davis, a spokesman for Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative, said Fort Smith “has a responsibility to the rest of the country” and the investments made by local companies would be felt in return.

Major ongoing projects Womack mentioned at Chaffee Crossing included a new ArcBest corporate headquarters and the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The future U.S. Marshals Museum was also a topic of discussion with Womack, as he passed around three of the freshly printed U.S. Mint commemorative coins.

Fort Smith economic development projects on the to-do list for Womack include following up on funding he’s helped secure for the 188th Wing’s new intelligence and “drone” mission; completion of Interstate 49 to U.S. 71 South with a bridge across the Arkansas River at Barling; and deepening of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.

“That means growth,” State Rep. George McGill, D-Fort Smith, said of the highway and river projects. “And the 188th is another big asset that could even get bigger.”

Womack said he has invited Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James to Fort Smith to see the 188th and expects a visit in the near future.

Outgoing chamber board chairwoman Melissa Hanesworth, managing director of Pernod Ricard in Fort Smith, said the 188th Wing is one of those entities that expand Fort Smith’s borders beyond the state line.

Womack said the chamber has many members with an “uncommon spirit of community” who worked to promote the city’s “economic vitality.”

Michael Barr, president of 80-year-old local window business WeatherBarr, will take over for Hanesworth as the new chairman for the chamber’s board of directors.

“You’ve heard all the statistics. We’ve gotten the jobs announcements. And the results speak for themselves,” Barr said. “Those results did not happen without a significant amount of work and perseverance.”

Barr said the Fort Smith chamber is one of the most successful in the state.

Tim Allen, president and CEO of the chamber, said he had made the goal last year with his director of operations, Tamara Fitzpatrick, to move up in a state ranking. The chamber recently realized that goal.