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| Announcements |
Northrop Grumman Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony with Lee Greenwood
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Kyle Collins, senior vice president, development, Colonial Properties Trust; Bruce Anderson, Alabama Development Office, north Alabama regional office; Mayor Loretta Spencer; Philip Teel, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman's mission systems sector; country musician Lee Greenwood; Irma Tuder, chair-elect of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County board of directors; and Dan Montgomery, Northrop Grumman Corporate lead executive for Huntsville.
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| Lee Greenwood sings the National Anthem at the groundbreaking for Northrop Grumman’s second building of four in Cummings Research Park. |
Northrop Grumman recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its second facility in Cummings Research Park which included a special performance by country music legend Lee Greenwood.The new four-story,110,000-square-foot facility will be the second of four planned Northrop Grumman buildings in CRP. There will be 340 employees working in the new facility when completed — both spillover employees already in Huntsville and employees new to the area.
Dan Montgomery, corporate lead executive for Northrop Grumman in Huntsville, opened the event by welcoming everyone in attendance to the new site. The J.O. Johnson High School Color Guard presented the flags of Alabama and the United States as Greenwood sang a moving rendition of the National Anthem.
Montgomery said, “Northrop Grumman is doing real well in Huntsville. We currently have 1,200 employees in Huntsville and with the building of this new facility we hope to consolidate our operations into one campus.” Continue »
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Trav-Ad Signs Breaks Ground on 30,000-Square-Foot Building
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Mayor Loretta Spencer and Madison County Commission Chair Mike Gillespie joined Roy Cox, President of Trav-Ad, as they broke the ground on Trav-Ad’s 30,000-square-foot building in Chase Industrial Park
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Trav-Ad Signs held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new 30,000-square-foot building located in Chase Industrial Park recently. Trav-Ad has been providing visual communication tools to businesses in the Huntsville/Madison County community and across the country since 1976.
The new building allows Trav-Ad to increase its capabilities as the largest visual communications company in the area. Some of the company's most recent work locally has included signage at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology among many others.
“Our event today is very symbolic of the unprecedented economic development projects that are occurring not only across our community, but across our state,” said Evans Quinlivan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. “The company we honor today showcases our community’s talent and expertise to communities across the country. In fact, everywhere you go, you see, literally and figuratively, signs of what this great company produces as a national leader in visual communications,” Quinlivan added. Continue »
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Space Still Available for “A Smart Place on the Road”— Deadline Wednesday, Oct. 1
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Bronze Sponsors:
Dynetics • SAIC • WILL Technology
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“A Smart Place” hits the road for Austin, Texas on Oct. 16. There is still space available for the trip that will provide companies the opportunity to recruit engineering, IT and other high-tech workers from Austin, the University of Texas and surrounding communities and schools. Austin was selected because of its similarities to Huntsville in IT, engineering and biotech and for its comparable quality of life. Nearby San Antonio is being targeted for its military and health care sectors. More than 200 jobseekers are expected to attend the event. The deadline to register is Oct. 1.“We want to show the wide range of career opportunities in our community,” said Lucia Cape, vice president of workforce for the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. “This is bigger than a single job or company – we have a variety of options and plenty of room for growth in many industries. ‘On the Road’ showcases the breadth and depth of choices.”
The first stop for the “On the Road” recruitment fairs was held late last fall on the campus of the University of Alabama when 30 businesses from Huntsville/Madison County traveled to Tuscaloosa to meet with potential job candidates and discuss career opportunities in Huntsville.
After the success of the first event, the Chamber took “On the Road” to Atlanta. The career expo included companies from aerospace, defense, engineering, IT, healthcare and public safety, where several companies made job offers on the spot.
“On the Road” is open to all job seekers in the Austin area. Extensive advertising has been purchased in advance for the event. The advertising will reach an estimated 3 million people in the Austin/San Antonio area. The ads will run in print and billboards. Billboards will debut Oct. 1. In addition to traditional advertising, this event is being promoted with new media on Monster.com. Employer participation is open to all Chamber members with job openings (staffing companies excluded). The cost to register is $2,500.
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Asmartplace.com Informational Sessions
“It’s smart to post your jobs on ASmartPlace.com, and it just got easier,” according to Lucia Cape, the vice president of workforce for the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County.
The Chamber will host two information sessions for asmartplace.com’s job board on Tuesday, Oct. 21 to show members how to use new features for posting and tracking jobs.
The job board is free to all Chamber members. Two training sessions are offered, at 11 a.m. and at noon, and lunch will be served. There is no cost to attend, but participants must register by Oct. 14 by emailing Mitzi Floyd (mfloyd@hsvchamber.org). Please provide her with the number of employees attending and indicate which session they will attend.
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Fall Chamber Golf Classic a Hole-in-One
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There were more than 160 golfers participating in this year’s Fall Chamber Golf Classic held at the Links at Redstone. Plans are being made for a Spring Chamber Golf Classic.
(Photo by J. Hanshaw Photography) |
On a perfect golf day, with temperatures in the 70s, more than 160 golfers participated in the 2nd Annual Fall Chamber Golf Classic. Presenting sponsor, CenturyTel, ordered the fine weather and food was provided by The Links at Redstone. This year, golfers were surprised by a visit from Spike McRoy, PGA golfer and Huntsville native. The funds raised from this tournament go toward increasing the economic development opportunities for our community.“We are a community that is always open for business and with your help, we have the ability to always answer our phones,” said Ron Poteat, Chamber vice chair for research and information services. Continue »
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Two Huntsville Companies Make the Inc. 5,000
Inc. Magazine recently ranked Torch Technologies, Inc. number 1,703 on its Inc. 5,000 list of fastest growing private companies in the country. This is the second year in a row Torch Technologies ranked on the Inc. 5,000. In 2007, Torch was ranked as the #1 Fastest Growing Private Defense Contractor in the Southeast.
Torch Technologies is a premier provider of scientific and engineering services primarily to the Department of Defense, and is located in Huntsville, Ala.
STI Electronics has been recognized as one of the fastest growing privately held companies by Inc. Magazine. STI has earned the rank of 4,675 on the 2008 Inc. 5000 list.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the employees and customers of STI. Without you, none of this would be possible,” said David Raby, CEO of STI Electronics.
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QTEC Hosts Ribbon Cutting and 10 Year Anniversary
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From Left to Right, Mayor Loretta Spencer; Jim Beveridge, QTEC Co-founder; Connie Beveridge, QTEC Co-founder and Kathy Broad, QTEC CEO cut the ribbon at QTEC.
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QTEC recently held a ribbon cutting and 10-year anniversary. QTEC works with such clients as NASA and the Department of Defense. Some of their projects include NASA’s Constellation program and the Army’s utility helicopter program.
“QTEC is a company that really is a fantastic representative of the business growth and economic foundation of the Huntsville/Madison County community,” said Evans Quinlivan, Board Chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County.
“Huntsville is a great place for entrepreneurs. We moved here in 1983 without thinking we would stay, but Huntsville really was a smart place for us,” said Connie Beveridge, Co-Cofounder of QTEC. Continue »
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Inergi’s Design Force to Restore NASA Mobile Quarantine Facility
Renovated astronaut trailer to be permanent Davidson Center exhibit
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Charles "Pete" Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean are seen in their quarantine unit aboard the U.S.S. Hornet after the craft recovered the Apollo 12 astronauts from the Pacific ocean on November 24, 1969.
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Inergi Design announced recently that their museum division, Design Force, has been awarded the contract to restore one of three remaining NASA mobile quarantine facilities (MQF) for display at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration within the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.In addition to restoring the MQF to its original appearance, the contract calls for integrating it into an educational exhibit that will display the unit and tell its story in the Apollo space program with images, narrative and interactive stations. Inergi’s Design Force is responsible for the entire project. Clear acrylic barriers set inside the door will allow visitors to view the interior of the unit. The restored trailer and the exhibit highlighting it will be included as part of the Davidson Center’s exhibit section titled “The Astronaut Life.”
Joel Sowder, Design Force engineering design manager, said, “It is projects like this one that keep us excited about our work. It will be a challenge to restore this facility after the wear and tear Mother Nature has dished out for the last 40 years, but we like a good challenge.” Continue »
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Woodland Homes Featured in Builder Magazine
Woodland Homes of Huntsville was featured in the September issue of the nationally distributed Builder Magazine, which is widely acclaimed as “The information source for the home-building industry.”
The feature is titled “Fast Track: Still on Their Heels,” and covers four different builders throughout the nation who received recognition earlier this year by being named as “Fast Track” builders. In 2007, Woodland Homes was named the 54th fastest growing builder in the nation by Builder in the “Fast Track” ranking.
The article recognizes Woodland Homes’ unique marketing efforts and highlights the company’s efforts to lead the industry by using "fresh ideas" and "innovative concepts" to draw in homebuyers and become a household name in the homebuilding industry in Northern Alabama.
Some of Woodland Homes’ "innovative marketing strategies" discussed are the placement of its corporate office, the impact the company made on the local Parade of Homes by taking home 12 blue ribbons in a time span of four years, adding high-quality multi-family homes to its portfolio and developing a cooking show that is filmed in its model homes.
The article is available online at www.builderonline.com, where Mike Friday, co-president and CEO of the company is featured on the front page of the site.
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Women’s Business Council Quarterly Luncheon
Michelda Johnson spoke at the Women’s Business Council Quarterly Luncheon recently before a packed auditorium at the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. As a business owner and HR professional, Johnson had several pieces of advice for those in attendance. Her speech centered on the importance of engagement with employees and with the changing face of the customer.
Johnson is the president and founder of IHRFC, a consulting firm, and the owner of Edible Arrangement, a business that recently was nominated for “Start-Up of The Year” at the Chamber’s Small Business Awards. In the course of her career, Johnson has consulted Fortune 500 companies and federal entities. Her clients have included Dell Computer Corporation, U.S. Postal Service, Georgia Merit System, City of Atlanta, Adtran and the City of West Palm Beach.
Johnson began by discussing the importance of engaging workers. She told the group that engaged employees benefit the company’s bottom line. According to a study by the Gallup Poll, 55 percent of employees were “not engaged,” 19 percent were “actively not engaged” and only 26 percent of employees said they were “engaged.” Continue »
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Chamber Hosts International Visitors
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Members of the Open World Program from Russia visited the Chamber.
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The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County was active in September. In addition to the many economic development projects and ribbon cutting events that occurred, several representatives from foreign countries visited the community to get a better understanding of Huntsville's economic development activities and opportunities.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s top U.S. representative visited Huntsville recently to learn about the many industries that are driving the Huntsville economy. Margaret Fong, Hong Kong commissioner for economic and trade affairs, received a community overview from the Chamber.
Fong said that biotechnology industry is a good match for businesses in Hong Kong. The Huntsville-based HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology Research is a great example of Huntsville’s growing biotech industry.
“Huntsville is a diverse community, both socially and economically, which makes it more inviting to international business. In fact, Huntsville is home to more than 50 foreign-based companies. It is always a pleasure to show off Huntsville to high-ranking foreign dignitaries, such as Commissioner Fong, who can in turn relate to others Huntsville’s role as a dynamic technology center in the U.S.,” said Ethan Hadley, Chamber of Commerce vice president of economic development.
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