The Massachusetts House of Representatives shares with Associated Industries of Massachusetts a commitment to ensure that the economic growth buoying the Boston area spreads through the commonwealth, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo told the AIM annual meeting today.

“For the past two years, extending the circle of economic prosperity from Boston to each corner of the commonwealth has been a chief priority of the House. I’m proud to say that through economic development bills, trips around the state, and a recently launched initiative called the Bay State Business Link, we are making gains,” DeLeo told more than 750 executives gathered at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel.

DeLeo noted that he last keynoted the AIM annual meeting during the height of the recession in 2009.

“I’m proud to say that in the past seven years we have overcome adversity and set a foundation for sustainable recovery,” he said.

“In the House, we embrace our legacy of creating workable, practical solutions. Our goal is to create sustainable legislation that will result in positive long-term consequences. From workforce training; to economic development bills that focus on diverse regions and industries; to education; to our nationally-heralded gun safety legislation: we are known for pairing bold ideas with commitment to collaboration.”

DeLeo’s remarks followed the presentation of the inaugural AIM Vision Awards for contributions to the Massachusetts economy to General Electric Company of Boston, Nuance Communications of Burlington and noted brain researcher Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University. AIM also presented the John Gould Education and Work Force Development Award to Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries of Massachusetts.

AIM Board Chairman Daniel Kenary announced in his annual remarks that the AIM Board of Directors has approved a restructuring that will allow AIM’s human resources operation to accelerate its growth, while the larger organization recommits itself to being the best public policy advocacy group in the nation.

AIM HR Solutions, formerly known as the Employers Resource Group, will become its own business center with the goal of building on annual revenues of $2.1 million. AIM HR Solutions will help employers wrestle with the complexity of managing a work force and comply with an ever- growing maze of employment laws.

“The change is intended to allow our managers to push full throttle on two business units that are already remarkably successful.  There isn’t an association anywhere in the world that would not give its right arm to have these two businesses. Your Board of Directors is excited about the possibilities this change will create,” said Kenary, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Harpoon Brewery.

Kenary also suggested that AIM is at a crossroads born of an increasingly volatile political environment that is challenging employers to articulate a positive and compelling vision for the role they play in the larger society. He called for employers to adopt an “entrepreneurial populism” under which they engage with the political process in their home communities.

“The late House Speaker Tip O’Neill’s maxim that “all politics is local’ has never been truer that it is today. And if all politics is local, the employer community represents a sleeping giant with enormous potential to drive sound public policy from the bottom up,” Kenary said.