“As Montgomery moves into a new era of growth and progress, the Chamber’s unique ability to handle and provide expertise covering all aspects of economic development – from tourism and business recruitment to military, small business and quality of place initiatives – is as essential as ever,” said Willie Durham, 2019 Chairman of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. “Another year of record-breaking economic growth is setting the pace for a prosperous future in Montgomery.”
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed delivered the keynote address, sharing his vision for Montgomery’s economic future with the crowd of over 600 business, military, community and elected leaders in attendance. 2019 Chairman Willie Durham presented the Chairman’s Award to Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative for the transformative and positive impact he and his organization have had on the city and the nation. The Chamber also presented its second annual Impact Maker Awards, sponsored by Sabel Steel, which honored individuals and companies making a significant difference in the region. At the conclusion of the meeting, Arthur Ducote executive vice president, commercial banking market president for Regions Bank took over the role of 2020 Chairman of the Chamber Board of Directors.
The Chamber’s efforts have produced several significant milestones this year that are moving Montgomery’s economic development strategy forward:
- For the second year in a row, Montgomery experienced record-breaking announced industrial capital investment. This year reaching over $1 billion and over 1,200 announced new jobs.
- Montgomery’s largest ever expansion announcement came just weeks ago with the announcement that Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama will invest $410 million to bring production of the Santa Cruz to the Montgomery plant, resulting in 200 new jobs and local suppliers projected to employ an additional 1,000 workers.
- Travel related expenditures topped over $972 million representing a 15.5 percent increase, the largest percentage of growth ever recorded by the Alabama Tourism Department, the Chamber’s Destination Sales team sold 63,257 room nights, a 4.4 percent increase over 2018. Citywide Montgomery sold over 25,000 more rooms this year than in 2018.
- The Chamber has continued to achieve national media attention for the city’s tourism, economic development and technology initiatives, earning more than 1.5 billion media impressions since 2017 through its targeted public relations activities.
- Enplanements at the Montgomery Regional Airport grew by 14.3 percent in 2019 and an additional direct flight to Washington, D.C. will begin service in January.
Editor’s Note: For high-res photos, visit http://bit.ly/2shNrIo.
For more information on the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce visit www.montgomerychamber.com.
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ABOUT THE MONTGOMERY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Montgomery Chamber of Commerce is a fully integrated economic development organization that works to improve the business community of Montgomery, Alabama, through the creation and preservation of jobs. Key focus areas of the Montgomery Chamber include recruiting industry and expanding existing businesses, developing minority and small businesses, growing tourism and convention development, expanding military and federal affairs, and fostering cyber and innovation programs. A long history of trusted public-private partnerships has allowed Montgomery to grow its thriving workforce, improve quality of life and attract more jobs to the region.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Meg Lewis
Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce
mlewis@montgomerychamber.com
334.261.1104
