Chamber Blog

The following remarks were given by Charlotte Chamber President Bob Morgan today during Bank of America's Annual Meeting in Charlotte:

Mr. Chairman, I am here to speak in favor of the proposed re-election of the incumbent Board of Directors of the Bank of America.

When the Charlotte Mecklenburg Development Corporation needed help to redevelop a blighted industrial corridor in West Charlotte, Ken Lewis and Bank of America stepped up to help create the Wilkinson Business Park, which today provides good jobs to citizens in the surrounding low income neighborhood.

When the opportunity arose to build mixed use, affordable housing in Baltimore, Ken Lewis and Bank of America did not cut and run, they stepped up to provide leadership and funding that has helped to revitalize that city's downtown and the Inner Harbor.

When Charlotte's First Ward neighborhood was the poster child of run down, dilapidated public housing, Bank of America stepped up, almost single handedly, to redevelop and transform the First Ward into one of America's premier examples of mixed use inter city development.

These are but three of thousands of examples from across the country where Ken Lewis and the leadership of Bank of America have stepped up to make life better for the less fortunate citizens of our country. When Charlotte and other communities have needed strong corporate leadership, Bank of America has not cut and run...Ken Lewis and his team have stepped up.

Today our national economy is suffering from what may be the most severe recession in our lifetime. Virtually everybody and every industry is effected, including of course the banking industry and Bank of America.

As a shareholder and as the President of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, I am proud of Ken Lewis and the entire Bank of America team and appreciate what they do for so many others in so many places across America.

Now is not the time for Bank of America shareholders to cut and run. I speak in favor of the re-election of the incumbent Board of Directors and encourage all shareholders to do the same.