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More than 1,300 people attended the Chamber’s Annual Membership Meeting. This year’s meeting was the largest ever. Photos by J. Hanshaw Photography, Inc. (Click photo to enlarge) Evans Quinlivan, who had the longest term as Chair of the Board of Directors, passes the gavel to 2009 Chair Irma Tuder. Evans Quinlivan and Madison County Commission Chair Mike Gillespie present the Distinguished Service Award to Congressman Bud Cramer. Evans Quinlivan and Jim Bolte, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, present the Industry of the Year to Tony Jones of The Boeing Company. Steve Forbes

Bud Cramer, who served the north Alabama community for 18 years as a U.S. congressman, was honored at the Chamber’s 73rd Annual Membership Meeting with the Distinguished Service Award. Cramer won the Chamber’s highest individual award for his economic development contributions and his community service in his 18 years as a U.S. Congressman.

“Some of the companies that Congressman Bud Cramer helped recruit and support are Toyota, Boeing, Target, Verizon, Williams International, U.S. Gypsum and North American Lighting. Having worked extensively with him in traveling and marketing and meeting with and making presentations to these companies and others, I can assure you that our community and this region of north Alabama have been at a tremendous advantage to have a congressman who has played an active role and taken such personal pride in his district’s economic development success. Consequently, he has brought thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in capital investment to Alabama,” said Madison County Commission Chair Mike Gillespie, who introduced Cramer.

“Our community, this region of north Alabama and our state have never had a better friend and representative in Washington than Bud Cramer. We are so fortunate to have had a leader of this caliber who has worked so passionately and intelligently to improve the economy and the quality of life of all who live here,” he added.

Cramer expressed his surprise and gratitude at winning the award. “This award really and truly means a lot to me. I want to thank my family for putting up with my career over the years,” Cramer said. Continue »

(pictured from left to right) Deputy Mayor Rex Reynolds, Walter and Terrie Bridges, Chamber vice chair for economic development Charlie Kettle and City Councilman Will Culver (Click photo to enlarge)

Charlie Kettle, vice chair of economic development of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors said, “It is very appropriate that Southern Digital has located into the nation’s second largest research and technology park. After all, under the leadership of Walter and Terri Bridges, SDPI has become one of the premier high technology communications providers in the community.”

In addition to the opening of the new facility, the event also marked the company’s 15th year of business as well as the owners’, Walter and Terri Bridges, 15th wedding anniversary. Continue »

Irma Tuder, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County and Madison Mayor Paul Finley join David Raby, president/CEO of STI, in cutting the ribbon for STI’s new facility in Madison. (Click photo to enlarge)

The company also offers expert training in circuit board assembly. More than 1,000 electronics instructors, engineers and technicians come to the company every year from around the nation and from countries such as Hong Kong, Turkey, Brazil and China. In addition to teaching and developing technology, STI is a worldwide distributor of parts for electronics boards with clients in all 50 states and more than 45 foreign countries.

“I’m thrilled with the capabilities the new facility provides for STI Electronics and our customers. I’m looking forward to continuing to grow our business in Madison and around the world,” said David Raby, president of STI.

Irma Tuder, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County said that innovative companies such as STI are major part of Madison County’s success.

“This community has been the state’s leader in new and expanding jobs announced in 15 of the past 18 years thanks to innovative companies such as STI Electronics,” Tuder said.

STI was ranked in Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing private businesses three times (two years in the top 500) and is a past winner of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County’s Small Business of the Year.

“This is a truly historic event, not just for Huntsville, in all of Alabama’s history,” said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. “This is confirmation by a nationally recognized third party that our plan is strong, and even in difficult times, that our future remains bright,” added Battle.

Battle went on to say that the economic recession would likely result in more rating downgrades for local governments, noting that fact made Huntsville’s upgrade even more telling.

In addition to the rating by S&P, Huntsville received a rating by Moody’s of Aa1, the second highest rating it offers.

U.S. News consulted RetirementJobs.com to determine the best cities for retirement-age job seekers. The study analyzed employment growth, the unemployment rate, housing costs, the cost of living and proximity to high-quality healthcare. Other factors included the prevalence of job opportunities in industries that tend to welcome older workers, such as healthcare, higher education, government and service-industry jobs.

Click here to read the report. »

The Chamber will also host its Business After Hours Feb. 10 beginning at 5 p.m. Business After Hours is being held at Regency Retirement Village. As the premier networking event for professionals in the area, this program gives individuals the opportunity to discuss and share ideas while learning about other local businesses in a casual setting. Registration for this event is available at the Chamber’s website, www.huntsvillealabamausa.com.

For more information on these events, contact Brittany at btaylor@hsvchamber.org or by phone at 535.2051.

Huntsville International Airport Finishes 2008 with Increased Passenger Volume

Huntsville International Airport recently announced it served 1,254,745 passengers during 2008, a 1.2 percent increase in passenger traffic over 2007.

“Given the current state of the economy, we are extremely pleased to have ended the year on a positive note – falling just short of our all-time record of 1,265,153 passengers, which was set in 2005,” stated Rick Tucker, executive director, Huntsville International Airport. “We are certainly the exception to the rule with regard to most airports nationwide.” Continue »

2008 Edition

The 2009 publication, Huntsville/Madison County: A Smart Place to Live, Work, and Play will provide information about all of the dynamic features that make Huntsville/Madison County a great location.

This publication will be included in all marketing efforts as the Chamber continues to attend and exhibit at workforce recruitment functions and meetings in 2009 geared toward attracting thousands of potential BRAC transferees. Similarly, the Chamber will be reaching out across the country to thousands of potential employees related to other new and expanding businesses in Huntsville/Madison County.

As always, the guide will also be available to visitors and members at the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County building.

Chamber members wishing to advertise should call Chamber Guide Advertising at 532-4250.

The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County has gone digital with its new, automated e-billing process. This online service is free to all members and makes it easier and faster to view account information, pay invoices and make changes to company information. The Chamber implemented this process due to requests from members to receive this information in a timely manner and to have the ability to make real time updates to company information. This new process is simple and easy to use. If you do not have a user ID and password or have lost that information, contact Donna McCrary at (256) 535-2027.

Calhoun Community College, announced today that the college’s 2009 spring semester enrollment has reached a new record for spring semester at the school, with a total of 9,260 students enrolled to date, an increase of almost six percent over last spring’s numbers.

According to college’s Admissions Office, the most significant enrollment increases are in the Huntsville campus day classes, up more than 53 percent from last year and in Distance Education enrollment, up more than 20 percent.

Of the students taking classes at Calhoun this spring, 4,184 are enrolled in day and evening classes at the Decatur campus and 3,879 are taking day, evening and weekend classes at the college's Huntsville/Cummings Research Park campus. The Distance Education program currently has 918 students taking classes on-line. Enrollment numbers for the college’s Dual Enrollment students currently stand at 46, however the College’s Admissions office is not yet finished processing enrollment applications.

“We are extremely excited about reaching a new spring semester enrollment record for Calhoun. As the largest of Alabama’s two-year colleges, Calhoun continues to offer quality instruction and training opportunities at an affordable cost and in various schedules and formats, which is indicated through our continued enrollment increases,” Calhoun president Marilyn Beck said.

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• Calhoun Announces Scholarships for Students Interested in Pursuing Careers In Engineering »
• Calhoun Community College Announces Events Calendar in Celebration of Black History Month February 2009 »