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April 26, 2010

Chamber Among Top 10 Economic Development Groups in the Country

Colorado Springs, Colo. — The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce was honored by Site Selection Magazine today as one of the Top 10 Economic Development Groups in the nation. Senior Vice President of Economic Development Jeff Edge accepted the award this afternoon at the Industrial Asset Management Council’s Spring 2010 Professional Forum at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Charlotte Regional Partnership also received the prestigious distinction.

“We view this as quite an honor,” said Edge. “Especially when you consider that Charlotte was selected from more than 15,000 economic development groups around the U.S.”

And it is no small feat. Despite one of the toughest economic climates since the Great Depression, the Charlotte Chamber successfully landed 53 projects in 2009 that directly resulted in the creation of 6,563 new jobs and more than $331 million in new capital investment.

The magazine’s annual ranking is determined by four objective categories: new jobs, new jobs per 10,000 residents, new investment amount and new investment per 10,000 residents. Then they were scrutinized for more subjective attributes – among them innovation, leadership and customer service.

“As we looked at locations producing the most jobs and securing the most capital investment, it became clear that the most competitive communities were not retreating from the economic downturn,” said Ron Starner, author of the report and general manager of Site Selection publisher Conway Data. “In fact, they did the opposite. They increased their marketing and promotional efforts and got even more aggressive in targeting and wooing business retention and expansion projects,” he added.

Among the key projects the chamber directly helped secure:
Toshiba, GMAC/Ally Bank, NACA, Zenta, Siemens Energy, Electrolux North America, CoaLogix, Merck Schering, Octapharma Plasma, U.S. Bancorp, Diagnostic Devices, Biotage LLC, Premier, Inc., Turman Commercial Painters, Triad Warehouse Solutions and Albert’s Organics.

“Our top 10 ranking in 2009 is made even more impressive when obstacles beyond the downturn in the economy are taken into consideration. Two members of the team lost an immediate family member during the year, and two other team members had immediate family members diagnosed with cancer. In spite of these personal setbacks, the chamber team excelled in growing Charlotte’s economy. I think it clearly demonstrates our commitment to the community,” said Edge.


SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE is a leading publication in the area of corporate real estate strategy and area economic development. It is the official publication of the Industrial Asset Management Council, and is distributed globally to more than 44,000 industry executives.

Charlotte Chamber | 330 South Tryon Street | Charlotte, NC 28202 | 704.378.1300 | www.charlottechamber.com

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