Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, will be the keynote speaker at the Chamber’s annual membership meeting, Thursday, Jan. 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Von Braun Center North Hall.

The company's flagship publication, Forbes, is the nation's leading business magazine, with a circulation of more than 900,000. Forbes and Forbes Global together reach a worldwide audience of nearly five million readers. Forbes writes editorials for each issue of Forbes under the heading of "Fact and Comment."

A widely respected economic prognosticator, he is the only writer to have won the highly prestigious Crystal Owl Award four times. The prize was formerly given by U.S. Steel Corporation to the financial journalist whose economic forecasts for the coming year proved most accurate.

Forbes will not be the only attraction at the meeting. The Chamber annually presents the Distinguished Service Award to a deserving leader in Huntsville/Madison County who has contributed greatly to making this community better for all residents. The award is the highest award given by the Chamber. The first winner was Dr. Wernher von Braun in 1957. Jim Hudson, founder of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, received the award in 2008.

And for the second consecutive year, the Chamber will also present its Industry of the Year Award to recognize the community’s highly successful large businesses. Modeled after the Chamber’s annual Small Business Awards Celebration, the Industry of the Year recognition is limited to companies with 350 or more local employees.

A limited number of seats are still available for purchase – individual seats for the event are $90 each and reserve tables are available for $825. For more information about the event, contact Brittany Taylor at 535.2051 or to purchase tickets online, visit the web site at www.huntsvillealabamausa.com.