2011 REPORT TO INVESTORS

Tom Loeblein – 2011 Board Chair

The Rowan County Chamber of Commerce experienced another extremely successful year in 2011.

First and foremost, our programming has grown and remained solid and relevant as evidenced by the continued strong support, involvement and active engagement of the Rowan County business community. In Rowan County, we have a 33% penetration rate in terms of the number of businesses that are Chamber members. The national average is 21%. With 900-plus members, we’re the 7th largest Chamber out of 30 in the greater Charlotte area. Finally, in spite of the economy, we are in relatively good financial shape because we appreciate and prudently manage our members’ investments.

The following summarizes the Chamber’s many other accomplishments during the year. We are extremely indebted to and appreciative of the many volunteers who made this year so productive.

The Chamber’s Business Council chalked up another outstanding year in 2011 with the annual Business Show which showcased 70 plus exhibitors with hundreds attending. We also awarded the Chamber Champion Small Business of the Year to Apple House Realty. Another program our members find both exciting and beneficial is “Speed Networking”. Each event attracts an average of 30-40 participants. 

The Chamber hosted several meetings of local developers to begin work on a Business Friendly Initiative for the purpose of building better business relationships with city and county governments. We again partnered with The Salisbury Post, County of Rowan and City of Salisbury on the “$20 on the 20^th” promotion encouraging Rowan County citizens to spend money locally. 

The Chamber remained the clearinghouse for business assistance via our Business Resource Center (BRC) located in The Gateway and on the Chamber’s web site.  The BRC includes personal computer, electronic business resources, business periodicals, access to the Internet, business plan software and more.  We also continued our very popular monthly “SBC Days” (Small Business Counseling) where 50 plus local business people or aspiring entrepreneurs met with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College business development counselors in 2011.  Additionally, the Chamber continued its counseling partnership with UNC Charlotte’s Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC).  Use of the BRC by both start-up and existing companies continued steadily in 2011.

The Chamber’s Industrial Association held quarterly get-togethers that included tours of Carolina Stalite, Dillard’s Distribution Center, Daimler Truck North America (Freightliner) and Fibrant. Each event averaged 20-30 attendees and in 2011 we also began inviting the Rowan-Salisbury School System Career Development Counselors so they could keep up with workforce trends. Certificates of Origin also were issued for area manufacturers exporting their products.

The Chamber’s Women In Business networking group met quarterly in 2011 to exchange ideas, information and success stories.  Almost 100 women attended each event.

In the agriculture arena, we again supported numerous agricultural awards and projects such as the Junior Dairy Show and Farm-City Day in conjunction with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. 

The Chamber continued to serve as Rowan County’s information source with numerous referrals and inquiries from new businesses, new residents, visitors, business travelers and the general public.  To help accommodate the traffic, a Relocation Guide was printed and also offered on-line. The Chamber continued to compile its “Economic Indicators” report during the year and sent it to the membership quarterly. 

The Federal and State Affairs Committee continued its aggressive agenda in 2011 and took positions on numerous state and federal issues important to the Rowan County business community. We maintained communication with federal elected officials and state legislators via mail, one-on-one meetings in Washington, DC and Rowan County and a Legislative Breakfast that attracted more than 100 business leaders.

Issues discussed with state legislators and our Congressional delegation included job creation, trade agreements, healthcare, tort reform, American competitiveness, offshore oil and natural gas production, EPA, workers compensation, unemployment benefits, taxes, transportation and other economic development issues. We also continued to offer free membership in the North Carolina State Chamber for Chamber members with ten or less employees.

“Friday Forums” continued to appeal to Chamber member businesses with an average attendance of 35-50 at each event and timely topics including the Rowan County Airport, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and Rowan County Tourism  all of which impact the business community.

A Candidate Forum was held in the Fall in conjunction with Catawba College and The Salisbury Post for the Salisbury City Council election.  In addition, several meetings were held with Rowan County Mayors to discuss issues of common interest.

The Chamber continued to represent the business community before numerous area groups including the Rowan County Commission, United Way, Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission, Board of Education, Tourism Development Authority, area municipalities and Regional Roads Committee.

Education remained a very high priority for the Chamber in 2011.  We paid special tribute to area educators and students by sponsoring the Annual New Teacher Reception, Teacher of the Year Award and Workforce Development Award. 

A tremendous amount of effort continues to go into the Chamber’s education advocacy initiative—Rowan Partners for Education (RPE).  This citizen-led initiative will meet the challenges of, and offer support and fact-driven reasoning to, public school improvement in Rowan County.  RPE is located in the Chamber and continues to move forward.

The Workforce Development Alliance continued its efforts in 2011 including the “Geared Up 4 Success Campaign” which encompasses one-on-one counseling with graduating seniors, web site, banners, posters and newspaper and television ads, all in an effort to develop the kind of skilled workforce that the Rowan County business community needs.  We also continued to support the Rowan and Cabarrus County STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workforce development initiative and the Re-Employment Bridge Institute.

The “Leadership Rowan” Leadership Development Program graduated its 19^th class in 2011 and began its 20^th year of developing a pool of informed leaders for the many important public and private leadership positions throughout Rowan County.  We also continued our support of the very successful Communities in Schools of Rowan County (Stay-in-School) initiative.

The Chamber continued progress in 2011 toward its goal of “Total Organization Excellence”. 

The Chamber’s membership development efforts experienced another great year with several successful events and accomplishments. The Annual Meeting attracted a record crowd and other successes included the Annual Leadership Retreat, membership drive (120 plus new members recruited – 20 percent over goal) and the monthly Business After Hours Membership Mixers and Business Showcase.  Some 100 members attended Business After Hours each month.

 The division also was responsible for member surveys, our award-winning business directory/relocation guide (North Carolina Press Association six of the last eleven years), monthly newsletter (AT Work), monthly full-page newspaper ad, member broadcast e-mails, ribbon cuttings, new member reception and other mixers.  The organization also recognized its annual Paul E. Fisher Volunteer of the Year—Skip Wood of Sharp Capital Group.  The Chamber’s membership rolls, involvement and support continued to be strong in 2011.

The Chamber’s Web site (www.rowanchamber.com) was continuously upgraded and includes information on the organization, its members, a relocation guide, information request form, market space, hot deals coupons, links, Business Resources and other pertinent data.  The web site continues to be a popular internet site for local information. (Like us on Facebook to keep up-to-date on activities and events.)

The Chamber’s facility—The Gateway—continued to serve as a focal point for all of Rowan County.  In 2011, state of the art technology was added to the board room and almost 600 meetings were held in the building including Business Seminars, Corporate Meetings and Retreats, Training Sessions, Civic and Social Service Agency meetings and numerous other committees, task forces and boards. 

The Chamber’s Finance Committee continued to assist staff and volunteer leadership in preserving the overall financial integrity of the organization.

Thanks to the many, many volunteers who made 2011 an excellent year for the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce.