The list, compiled by Inc. Magazine, showed that Huntsville-based GATR Technologies and Alatec were the only Alabama-based companies to rank on the Inc. 500 list.

Huntsville-based GATR Technologies (Alabama’s highest-ranked company) and Alatec were the only Alabama-based companies to rank on the Inc. 500.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said the companies reinforce the uniqueness and diversity of the local economy.

“Every day we see examples of the strength of our community. I am ecstatic that our success story is continuing to grow – and we could not be more proud of the 20 small businesses named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies,” Battle said. Continue »

(Left to Right) Joe Vallely, City of Huntsville; Steven Burkett, COO of SL1; Lori Burkett, principal owner of SL1; Don Nalley, chair-elect of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors; and Jim McCamy, Office of Rep. Parker Griffith.

“SL1 is a company that continues to enhance our image as a leading technology and engineering community,” said Don Nalley, chair-elect of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors. “In its support of the U.S. Army and DoD, this company is in many ways representative of the remarkable growth we have enjoyed in Huntsville/Madison County as the Army’s presence and programs here have continued to grow.”

Steven Burkett, SL1 COO, said that the company was formed after he and his wife were relocated by their previous employer to Huntsville. Shortly after arriving, Burkett decided to start his own company, which won its first defense contract just months after incorporating. The company began by offering software-blocking technology to the Army, but has since grown its services.

“We chose Huntsville because of the great support this community shows small businesses,” he said. Continue »

Kevin Kennoy, who heads the Huntsville office of MWH, cuts the ribbon at the company’s ribbon cutting ceremony and announcement of its entrance into the North Alabama market.

MWH Americas provides comprehensive consulting management, engineering and technical services and construction management services to North, Central and South America. The company provides wet infrastructure expertise for municipalities, governments and private-sector clients that span not only the company’s core business in water and wastewater treatment, but also the significant opportunities North and South America have in hydropower, water resources and services to the energy industry, including renewable and sustainable energy sources.

MWH is currently contracting with the City of Huntsville on a number of projects. The company currently employs five people, but officials with the company plan to grow its presence here. Continue »

The program was recently featured in the August edition of Initiatives. (hyperlink to pdf of article) The article features recent Bridges graduates and what they thought of the program.

The registration form for Bridges can be found on the Chamber’s site. For more information on Bridges, contact Mitzi Floyd at mfloyd@hsvchamber.org or 535-2089.

Huntsville Hospital received the national recognition by earning the 2009 Triple Performance Achievement Award for quality care in all three areas through the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s “Get With The Guidelines” program. Huntsville Hospital is one of only two facilities in the state and only 40 in the country to receive this level of achievement in all three areas. Continue »

Mayors Paul Finley, Madison and Tommy Battle, Huntsville

By May, 2010, more than 8,000 panels, created by students and individuals from more than 100 countries, will be stitched together and installed as a 36,467-square-foot wrap on the Saturn V rocket, named “One of America’s Seven Wonders” by ABC’s Good Morning America.

Each of the panels will express a “dream theme” - each participant’s hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow, according to Dream Rocket Director Jennifer Marsh, a faculty member at UAHuntsville and one of the leading figures in collaborative public art. Continue »

For ticket and other information (including corporate table availability) about the Women Honoring Women Program or the WEDC Foundation, go to www.wedcfoundation.org or call Janice Sanders, Executive Director of the WEDC Foundation at 429.4718.

“The panel of distinguished judges reviewed 24 nominations and ranked them for timeliness, impact on society, magnitude of the leap over prior practice, ability to inspire change and ability to reflect positively on the community,” said Dick Reeves, Chairman of the judging committee.

Selections were made in the fields of biotechnology, information technology, engineering, advanced manufacturing, education and entrepreneurship -with innovations in the form of new things, or in the form of new ways of doing old things.

“Both are equally valuable, both worthy of cultivation and recognition, both represented in our selection of people to recognize,” stated Reeves.

The VIA committee selected the following for recognition as Innovators: Continue »