Joseph M. Cosumano Jr., president and CEO of of Agility DGS, cuts the ribbon on the company's new corporate headquarters in Cummings Research Park.

Agility DGS owns Taos Industries, a logistics and military procurement company that was founded in Huntsville in 1991.

Joseph M. Cosumano Jr., president and CEO of Taos Industries, was named president of Agility DGS Inc. Cosumano, a retired Army lieutenant general, served as commander of the U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville from 2001 to 2003.

Agility’s decision to consolidate U.S. operations in Huntsville reflects the community’s emergence as a leading center for aviation, missile, space and procurement activity, Cosumano said.

“Huntsville has become a critical hub for the U.S. military and defense industries. It’s important for us to deepen our existing roots here so we can be close to our partners and to key customers such as the Army Materiel Command, Redstone Arsenal and the Army Security Assistance Command,” he said.

“Huntsville and Madison County offer us an ideal combination of business opportunities and quality of life,” Cosumano said. “They’ve got critical mass in the defense industry, along with a highly educated labor pool. This is an attractive, affordable place to live. Our plan is to grow here and contribute to the economy and the community.”

Irma Tuder, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County’s Board of Directors, said that Agility represents the diversity of Huntsville/Madison County’s economy.

“Today very much illustrates the economic growth and diversity of the Huntsville/Madison County community. To have a company with this type of global presence located here and expanding here is wonderful to see,” Tuder said.

BRAC is bringing 4,700 direct jobs (a mix of civil servant and contractor positions) and an estimated 5,000 additional contractor support jobs. The Senior Tech Tour was funded with the assistance of the Boeing Charitable Trust and is a joint venture with UAHuntsville. The tech tour is part of the Tennessee Valley Base Realignment and Closure (TVBRAC) workforce campaign that is targeting students and graduates with engineering, applied science, business, finance and logistics majors at universities across the country.

Joe Alexander, vice chair of workforce for the Chamber’s board of directors, says a tour of Huntsville’s high-tech areas is an effective way of recruiting students to Huntsville.

“This event brings top students from area schools to learn more about career opportunities in Huntsville/Madison County. Showing them what we have to offer is much more effective than telling them. The tours on Redstone Arsenal and in Cummings Research Park provide the visual proof that a presentation can’t match,” said Alexander.

In addition to the students, faculty and staff also attended the event and many said they felt the tour benefited the students.

"I think our students really benefited from all the speakers and the tour of the area. You really have something special in Huntsville," said Donald Foster, associate director of experimental education programs at Tennessee Tech University.

(L to R) Whitney Heaps, Congressman Parker Griffith's office; Daniel Tidwell, Congressman Robert Aderholt's office; John Williams, operations manager of MEI-Huntsville; Vic Walczak, MEI general manager for military programs; Irma Tuder, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Chamber or Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County; Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle; LaFreeda Jordan, Sen. Richard Shelby's office; Lisa Washington, Sen. Jeff Sessions's office.

The move to the new office comes on the heels of MEI Technologies-Huntsville adding more personnel upon winning the Test and Evaluation Contract with the U.S. Army’s Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) in September 2008.

“This AMRDEC T&E effort is a five-year, $158-million contract, and required us to hire 14 new employees in the Huntsville office – a more than 300 percent increase in the past two years, and will continue to ramp up in the coming months.” said John Williams, operations manager for MEI Technologies-Huntsville. “So naturally, additional offices and laboratories were a necessity.”

MEI Technologies anticipates further growth for the Huntsville office based on the steady flow of contract work with entities such as the NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center, Department of Homeland Security and various Department of Defense agencies. This will result in even more employee growth over the next four to five years. There is an additional 4,000 square feet of office space at the Huntsville facility to accommodate such expansion.

“The city of Huntsville has been a tremendous support to us in the three years since we opened our office,” Williams said. “Our job growth not only allows us to service our clients, but also helps boost the economic vitality of our community – we’re creating real jobs. Plus, more employees allow us to become even more active in our community, supporting and sponsoring local charities and other organizations that strive to make Huntsville a great place to live and work.”

Irma Tuder, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors, said that companies such as MEI contribute to the Huntsville/Madison County’s reputation.

“There is a reason why the Huntsville/Madison County community was selected as the best performing city, the second best city in the nation to raise a family, and the number one community to launch a business – proving that this is a smart place to live, work and play, and it is because of the investment into this community by companies such as MEI,” Tuder said.

The Membership Appreciation Breakfast, modeled after the successful New Member Luncheons, was attended by more than 100 people representing various industry sectors from retail to government contractors. Seating capacity was meet after only 24 hours of announcing the event. Chamber members were able to hear from the Chamber’s different divisions about their activities and ways to get involved. The event also featured a demonstration of the Chamber’s new membership software WebLink, which puts Chamber members in control over how they appear in the Chamber online directory as well as gives members a convenient way to view invoices, register and receive information for all Chamber events, and various other features.

Ron Poteat, vice chair of investor relations for the Chamber’s Board of Directors, said that he thinks Chamber services benefit the community.

“It takes all of us working together to continue enjoying the economic success we have experienced during the past decade,” Poteat said. “By educating our membership on services we have available and actively engaging them in our activities, our community becomes the beneficiary of continued success.”

Feedback from Chamber members has been positive about this new event.

“Thank you for a great meeting. I learned a lot from this event,” said David McElhaney, president and managing partner, Global Recruiters of Huntsville.

Due to the popularity of this event, the Chamber will hold more of these breakfasts. Members are encouraged to look for upcoming dates on the Chamber’s website and register quickly.

"This year's event will represent a dramatic change in format. Huntsville has an incredible story - and we were looking for the most dynamic way of telling that story. From the interactive video that will highlight local shining stars that help make our community what it is to the chance for people not in attendance to ask questions via new media (Facebook, Twitter, AIM) - every change that we're making is in an effort to be more inclusive and to do the best job we can in telling Huntsville's story," Battle said.

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The Holiday Open House is an annual event that celebrates the holiday season and also recognizes the Chamber’s board members and volunteers who assisted the Chamber with events throughout the year such as our Total Resource Campaign, Ambassador and Emissary Committees, Small Business Awards Celebration and many others.

Entertainment will be provided by America’s Party Pros and Metropolitan Disk Jockey. Food vendors will feature Ashley's Creative Catering, Cafe N Fusion, Catering by Kurt, Chocolate Gallery, Grille 29, HoneyBaked Ham, Jason's Deli, Mr. Bar B Que, Tenders, Tina's Cantina, Tommy's Pizza and Vincent Gourmet Cookie Company.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and Andrew York of CRS ,joined by Rep. Parker Griffith (far left), Ron Poteat (far right), Chamber vice chair for investor relations, and CRS staff, cut the ribbon on the company's new larger office in downtown Huntsville.

Ron Poteat, vice chair of investor relations for the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors, congratulated the company on its growth.

“We are thrilled to be here with CRS today. We don’t think there is a better business climate in the United States right now than what exists here so we are excited to see the company doing well,”

Andrew York, who leads the Huntsville office, said that the strong community is a reason for the company’s presence and growth.

“We are here because of the strong architecture and construction contractor community here,” York said.

Athens State University announced the launching of three business majors designed to support the Tennessee Valley’s BRAC initiative beginning with the spring semester in January 2010.

The new majors are Acquisition and Contract Management, Enterprise Systems Management, also known as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Logistics and Supply Chain Management. All three of the new programs will be taught through Athens State’s College of Business. The University initiated the new programs to assist the efforts of the Tennessee Valley BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) Committee and to ultimately aid the long-term needs of the workforce that will be employed on Redstone Arsenal and throughout the North Alabama and South Tennessee region. All three programs were recently approved by the Alabama State Board of Education and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Continue »