Initiatives April 2010
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Thanks to Our Investors Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County
Development Partner ($250,000+ invested annually: public sector)
City of Huntsville
Development Council
(Up to $125,000 invested annually: public sector)
Huntsville Utilities Madison County Commission Tennessee Valley Authority Huntsville Hospital City of Madison Huntsville-Madison County Airport Authority
Chairman’s Council ($50,000+ invested annually)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Inc. Regions Bank President’s Circle ($25,000 - $49,999 invested annually)
ADTRAN AT&T BBVA Compass The Boeing Company Crestwood Medical Center The Huntsville Times Lockheed Martin Redstone Federal Credit Union SAIC Verizon Wireless Wachovia Bank, N.A. 4
April 2010 Initiatives
Chamber Trustees
($10,000 - $24,999 invested annually)
Agility Defense & Government Services Avocent Corporation Beason & Nalley, Inc. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Alabama Booz Allen Hamilton Breland Companies Camber Corporation CINRAM, Inc. Cobham Analytic Solutions COLSA Corporation
Progress Partners
($5,000 - $9,999 invested annually)
AEgis Technologies Analytical Services, Inc. Applied Data Trends, Inc. BAE Systems BASF Catalysts LLC Coldwell Banker/McLain Real Estate Colonial Properties Consolidated Construction Dynetics Enfinger Steele Development, Inc. ERC, Inc. First Commercial Bank Intuitive Research & Technology Corp. J. Smith Lanier & Co. Jerry Damson Honda Acura Keystone Foods Corporation Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne LG Electronics Alabama, Inc.
Progress Investors
Huntsville Area Association of Realtors Huntsville/Madison County Builders Association, Inc. Intergraph L-3 Communications Lamar Outdoor Advertising Look Outdoor Advertising Northrop Grumman Parsons Corporation SES, Inc.
M. B. Kahn Construction Co., Inc.
Navistar Diesel of Alabama The Orthopaedic Center Parker Hannifin Corporation Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc. Samples Properties Sirote & Permutt, P.C. SL1-Inc Stanley Associates Superior Bank The Surgery Center of Huntsville System Studies and Simulation, Inc. Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. Turner Universal Construction WAFF-TV Yellowbook Anonymous
($2,500 - $4,999 invested annually)
4SITE, Incorporated Applied Geo Technologies Averbuch Realty / Averbuch Enterprises BancorpSouth Baron Services Belzon BFA Systems BID Designs, LLC BlueCreek Investment Partners Bradley Arant Boult Cummings Brown Precision Bryant Bank Century Automotive Chapman Sisson Architects Decisive Analytics Corporation Decosimo Certified Public Accountants DESE Research, Inc. DHS Systems DRS Technologies – A Finmeccanica Co. FITE Building Co., Inc. Fountain Parker Harbarger & Associates Fuqua & Partners
Garber Construction Co., Inc. Gray Research, Inc. Hardin Cordier and Junkin, LLC Huntsville Tractor & Equipment, Inc. Kelly Services Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Kudzu Productions Lamb Commercial Services, Inc. North Alabama Gas District Oak Ridge-Huntsville Partnership Office Precipio, Inc. Progress Bank QinetiQ North America QTEC Qualis Corporation Torch Technologies UBS Huntsville Wealth Management United Space Alliance, LLC Wesfam Restaurants, Inc. – Burger King WHNT-19 Woody Anderson Ford
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initiatives
Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County
april 2010
Why We Explore, and Why We Should
Huntsville Botanical Garden
by Michael D. Griffin page 22 Cover design by Kristi Sherrard Images from Shutterstock.com
features Economic Development Highlights
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Cummings Research Park
Huntsville/Madison County, Alabama is located in the middle of the southeastern United States, with more than four million people within a 100-mile radius. The Huntsville community is the economic hub of the northern Alabama/southern Tennessee region. Huntsville/Madison County’s economy is one of the strongest in the nation, with low unemployment, strong job growth and income levels leading the region. Business growth and investment from U.S. and international companies have made it one of the country’s top “hot spots” for growing a business and raising a family.
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Hampton Cove
including SES, The Boeing Company, Defense Acquisition University, Decisive Analytics, Washington Update with U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, Moody’s, and the Port of Huntsville
mission The mission of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County
is to prepare, develop and promote our community for economic growth.
contact
Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County 225 Church Street Huntsville, AL 35801 256.535.2000
on the web www.HuntsvilleAlabamaUSA.com www.asmartplace.com
And the Winner Is... Constellation Cancellation Impact NASA: in Everything You Do SBA Spotlight: Olly Orton Madison County Job Growth Vibrant Arts SBA Spotlight: Davidson Technologies BRAC & Army Contracting Command Chamber to Go “Around the World”
18 23 27 28 29 31 34 37 40
developments 4 8 13 16 25 30 36 42
HREGI Investors Chamber Board Listing HREGI Testimonial Community Profile Growth Through Networking Local Workforce Initiative Employee of the Quarter Chamber Staff Listing
editorial staff
Publisher Brian Hilson Executive Editor John Southerland
Editorial Designer Kristi Sherrard ontributing Writers Lucia Cape, Harrison Diamond, C Michael Griffin, John Southerland Loren Traylor and Mike Ward Photography Chamber of Commerce staff & publications (if not credited)
Advertising Sales Ray Johnson The Huntsville Times Initiatives April 2010
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Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors and Executive Committee 2010 Executive Committee
Dear Chamber of Commerce Investors, Community Leaders and Friends: This is a letter I wish I didn’t have to write, because it concerns a hotly-debated issue which, in my opinion, should not have reached this point. The future of America’s space program is uncertain because NASA-led manned spaceflight is facing possible termination. Obviously, Huntsville and Alabama, along with many other cities and states which are home to key NASA programs, would be affected by a discontinuation of the Constellation program. In Huntsville’s case, responsibility for production of key Ares projects would likely have a significant negative economic impact on our community. It would be easy to argue, therefore, that plans for NASA’s manned spaceflight programs should remain intact because of pending employment losses. The case for Constellation, however, really isn’t about the potential loss of jobs at the places that are most directly affected. The essential issues of this controversy run far deeper. The case for manned spaceflight, led by NASA, is what this issue of Initiatives focuses on. Beginning with the front cover and continuing through a very thoughtful article written by Dr. Michael Griffin, former NASA administrator and now Eminent Scholar with the University of Alabama in Huntsville, this Initiatives offers compelling reasons why any interruption of Constellation is bad for America. The issues on the table involve not just NASA, but America’s future in science and technology, the position our country has traditionally maintained in global leadership, and the encouragement of technology-related careers for our current workforce and future generations. In the 1960s it was easy for Americans to feel compelled to win the race to the moon. We had competition, and because of it, a natural sense of urgency to succeed. As a child growing up in Huntsville, I recall the American and German scientists and engineers working together toward our country’s common goal. I remember well the vibration from testing of the Saturn V rocket engines miles away. Only later in life did I fully understand and appreciate how Huntsville and America were making history. Without question, there is still much more history to be made. To me, anything “NASA” symbolizes world-class technology – the most sophisticated and advanced possible. Most people, especially those who say we’ve already been there and done that with regard to space flight, don’t make the connection between NASA and discoveries which affect everyday life. However, it is a fact that the technological advances resulting from NASA’s many successes over the years, including products that we use every day, are astounding. Some of these are listed herein, as a reminder that America’s space program also has much to do with life on earth. America’s ability to advance technologically rests, in large part, upon our commitment to continue Constellation and other NASA-led programs. Congress will ultimately decide what happens, and those decisions will go a long way toward determining whether America will maintain its traditional position as the most technologically capable country in the world.
Brian Hilson President & CEO Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County 8
April 2010 Initiatives
Don Nalley, Chair, Beason & Nalley Charlie Kettle, Chair-Elect, First Commercial Bank Irma Tuder, Immediate Past Chair, Analytical Services Tommy Beason, Chamber Foundation Chair, consultant Ron Poteat, Secretary/Treasurer, Regions Bank Jim Bolte, Vice Chair - Economic Dev., Toyota Motor Manufacturing Ala. Joe Alexander, Vice Chair - Governmental Affairs, Camber Corporation Jan Smith, Vice Chair - Investor Relations, System Studies and Simulation Jeremiah Knight, Vice Chair - Workforce, Verizon Wireless Danny Windham, Vice Chair - Small Business, Digium Robert Mayes, Vice Chair - Research & Info. Svs., BlueCreek Investment Angela McCarter, Vice Chair - Image Development, Davidson Technologies Mayor Tommy Battle, Chair-Appointed, City of Huntsville Chairman Mike Gillespie, Chair-Appointed, Madison Co. Commission Elizabeth Morard, Chair-Appointed, Qualis Corporation Joe Ritch, Chair-Appointed, Sirote & Permutt Brian Hilson, President/CEO, Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison Co. Elected Board
Cynthia Achorn, ASRC Federal Rose Allen, Booz Allen Hamilton Rey Almodóvar, Intuitive Research & Technology Corporation Clayton Bass, Huntsville Museum of Art Penny Billings, BancorpSouth Greg Bragg, Consolidated Construction Company Everett Brooks, Avocent Corporation Micah Bullard, Turner Universal Construction Frank Caprio, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings Tracy Doughty, Huntsville Hospital John Eagan, Wachovia Bank Joe Fadool, Continental AG Kerry Fehrenbach, Intergraph Corporation Elizabeth Dotts Fleming, Public FA Ron Gray, Gray Research Jeff Hamilton, The Orthopaedic Center John Holly, Lockheed Martin Corporation Dr. Andrew Hugine, Alabama A&M University Dr. Pam Hudson, Crestwood Medical Center Tony Jones, The Boeing Company Simon Kim, LG Electronics Alabama Frederick Lanier, J. Smith Lanier & Co. John McMullan, BancorpSouth Dan Montgomery, Strategic Defense Solutions Caroline Myers, Foreign Language Services Joe Newberry, Redstone Federal Credit Union Jim Owens, BBVA Compass Tony Palumbo, Raytheon Company Crystal Shell, WILL Technology Dr. Ashok Singhal, CFD Research Corporation Todd Slyman, Village of Providence Keith Smith, SAIC Dr. O’Neal Smitherman, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology Tom Stanton, ADTRAN Al Sullivan, ABT Dr. Dave Williams, UAHuntsville Dr. Ernie Wu, ERC
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY
SES Announces 70 New Jobs in Huntsville The Boeing Company has selected Science and Engineering Services, Incorporated (SES) to perform disassembly, inspection and repair on AH-64D Apache helicopters in preparation for the upgrade to the AH-64D Apache Block III. The program will create approximately 70 new positions for aviation mechanics, avionics mechanics, structural installers and aviation quality inspectors within SES in Huntsville. SES will receive U.S. Army Apache helicopters at the SES West Aviation and Integration Facility located in Huntsville, where the aircraft will be disassembled, inspected and repaired as necessary. The components and airframe will be shipped to Boeing in Mesa, Ariz. for integration into the newest model Apache helicopter, the AH64D Apache Block III. Don Nalley, chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors, congratulated the company on its expansion. “The Chamber offers congratulations to Boeing and SES – together these two great companies illustrate why the Huntsville/Madison County community is rightfully considered one
Above: Al Winn, Boeing vice president, Apache Programs. Right: E.J. Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer of SES. Boeing recently announced that it selected SES to perform repair work on Apache helicopters. SES will hire approximately 70 employees to work on the helicopters in Huntsville. Boeing Site Executive Tony Jones says that the project will add to the scope of aviation work being performed in Huntsville.
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of the best places to do business in the United States right now. This announcement illustrates why our community is considered a smart place to live, work and play. At a time when many communities are losing jobs, today we stand tall for our community and for our great state and show that we are, once again, adding jobs – great jobs.” “This decision by The Boeing Company will positively affect the Tennessee Valley over the New Jobs course of the next several years,” said SES CEO E.J. Sinclair. “SES in Huntsville anticipates being an integral part of the Boeing Apache Block III Team and working on the greatest attack helicopter in the world. This work continues to build Huntsville’s reputation as a Rotary Wing Center of Excellence for the Army.” “As a supplier team member working on the Apache program, SES will add to the scope of aviation work being performed for Boeing in North Alabama and provide additional aerospace employment opportunities in the region,” said Tony Jones, vice president and Boeing Huntsville site executive. •
~ continued on page 14
Defense Acquisition University Cuts Ribbon on New 60,000 Sq-Ft Facility Defense Acquisition University (DAU) recently cut the ribbon on its newly built, 60,000 square-foot facility in Thornton Research Park. DAU trains government employees ranging from new hires to high-level project managers in acquisition, technology and logistics. The facility can train hundreds of workers per week. Charlie Kettle, chair-elect of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors, said that DAU plays a key role in the area’s workforce development. “Having Defense Acquisition University in our community creates an even better trained, more highly qualified workforce to support the critical programs at Redstone. In addition, DAU’s presence is a very Kettle powerful workforce recruitment tool. It is nice for workforce candidates to know that if they move to our community they will have access to specific continuous learning and enhanced training programs that will increase their knowledge base as well as create additional career advancement opportunities,” Kettle said. James McCullough, Dean of DAU South, said that DAU has grown significantly in Huntsville since it first opened in 2002. “In February 2002, we opened a small office with three classrooms and 20 faculty members. This new building will have 100 faculty and staff and has 12 classrooms. There will be 400 students here every week. That is pretty significant growth,” McCullough said. Frank Anderson, President of DAU, said that the school’s mission is in line with the Department of Defense’s mission for a welltrained acquisition work- Preparing Our force. Workforce “On April 6, 2009, Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that we were going to increase the amount of the acquisition workforce. Since that announcement we have worked to meet that goal. We will have 40,000 graduates from DAU this year in various acquisition programs,” Anderson said. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle lauded the growth of DAU in Huntsville and its role of supporting the warfighter, a role that the community takes very seriously, according to Battle. “This is one of the great things in Huntsville. This growth is a mirror of Huntsville’s growth. DAU will make sure that our workforce is prepared to support the warfighter,” Battle said. •
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strength in
numbers
connects business prospects
“
BID Designs found HREGI
to be the perfect match because of our shared goal of seeing the Huntsville community grow and prosper. Our business is dedicated to helping small and mid-sized contractors grow through business development and program management consulting, process development, and software implementation, so HREGI is a natural fit.
L-R: Co-founders Chris Luchtefield & Brent Paris
BID Designs, LLC HREGI Investor since 2009
�
For a list of investors, see page 4 or visit: HuntsvilleAlabamaUSA.com
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS continued from page 10
Decisive Analytics Grows in Huntsville Decisive Analytics, a company specializing in systems engineering and intelligence systems for the Department of Defense, recently cut the ribbon for its new office in Cummings Research Park to accommodate continued growth for the Huntsville branch. According to John Donnellon, president of Decisive Analytics, the company looks forward to growing its footprint New Office in Huntsville. in Huntsville “We look forward to establishing a relationship with the community here and watching the community with amazed eyes at the technology being developed here. This is a place where a company like ours needs to be. NASA, the Army and Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency are all bringing their people here because of the quality of the workforce. We look forward to growing here as well.” Donnellon added that he looks forward to having another ribbon cutting to celebrate an even bigger office in the near future. •
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Senator Shelby “Bullish” on Huntsville During his recent Washington Update breakfast, held at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby said he’s “bullish” on Huntsville and the many federal programs managed at Redstone Arsenal. “I’m bullish on Huntsville and building Redstone Arsenal project by project and brick by brick. I’m also trying to build a huge presence for the Department of Justice [ATF and FBI],” Shelby said at the event, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County and presented by Applied Data Trends. The Davidson Center, with the historic Saturn V rocket suspended on its side just Shelby above 1,200 attendees, proved to be a fitting setting for Shelby’s update as he joined local leaders and elected officials in D.C.’s fight to restore funding to the Constellation and Ares Rocket programs. Shelby is the ranking member of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and ranking member of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee. In addition, he is a senior member of the full Appropriations Committee. As the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Sub-
committee with jurisdiction over NASA, Shelby is in a leadership position to help determine the fate of the U.S. space program. He has championed the effort to continue the Constellation and Ares programs to maintain U.S. leadership in the human exploration of space. “I remember when President Washington John F. Kennedy came to HuntsUpdate 2010 ville. He had a vision. The Administration does not have a vision. Why would you spend billions on a project that is successful only to say ‘No’?” Shelby said that he is not sure what the future of NASA will look like. He says that he hopes the future is not the dismantling of the agency, as it is currently known. “We don’t want to go backwards on this,” he said. When asked what opinion of the budget is in Congress, Shelby said that discussion is not quite widespread beyond senators and representatives of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and others. “No one is really focusing in on this right now. We have to generate critical mass. It is still early, but soon Congress and the President will collide. I hope that we have the momentum.”
~ continued on page 17
Shelby also addressed missile defense in his speech. “With a new administration, people want a new direction. I’m surprised [by the new direction]. Missile defense is very important to the security of our nation and important tactically and strategically for our troops. We better not get behind in missile defense because someone will get ahead of us.” •
More than 1,200 people attended Sen. Richard Shelby’s Washington Update hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County and presented by Applied Data Trends. Shelby discussed the importance of the Constellation program and the Ares rocket as well as the importance of remaining a leader in missile defense.
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community profile
TOP 10 EMPLOYERS Redstone Arsenal* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,373
Population
Madison County
2000 Census
276,700 158,216
29,329
342,376
Huntsville Hospital System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,385
Current Estimate*
319,510
38,275
395,570
The Boeing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,200
City of Huntsville 171,327
City of Huntsville Madison Metro Area
Huntsville City Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000
Households & Income # of Households
121,186
69,229
13,875
147,283
Avg. Household Income $69,882 $65,558 $85,820 $67,466 $28,209 $28,316 $32,180 $26,874 Per Capita Income *May 2009
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,177
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov), 2007 American Community Survey
CINRAM, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,861 Sanmina-SCI Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500 SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,303 City of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,199 Madison County Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,150 Source: Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County
*includes on-site contractors
Aerospace & Defense Huntsville/Madison County is home to the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center which combine to drive a thriving aerospace and defense technology industry. More than 32,000 people work at Redstone Arsenal and NASA managing some of the country’s most important and sophisticated technology programs including missiles, aviation and space exploration.
Research & Technology
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Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park has earned a reputation as a global
For more information visit:
park in the U.S., Cummings Research Park is home to more than 285 compa-
HuntsvilleAlabamaUSA.com
nies and 25,000 people involved in technology research and development.
April 2010 Initiatives
leader in technology development. The second-largest science and technology
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS continued from page 15
~ continued on page 20
Moody’s Forecast Shows Huntsville Metro as the Best Investment in the Country Huntsville Metro and other Alabama Metros also rank well in employment forecasts According to a report compiled by Moody’s, one of the premier bond rating companies in the world, the Huntsville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes Madison and Limestone Counties, is the No.1 safest metro for a positive return on investment. In Moody’s report on risk-adjusted return, which measures how secure communities are, other Alabama metros joined the Huntsville MSA in the top 25: No. 5 Auburn, No. 6 Mobile, No. 7 Montgomery, and No. 17 Birmingham. Moody’s writes of Huntsville, “Bolstered by the federal stimulus, increased demand for durable goods and the ongoing relocation of military and federal jobs-the result of 2005’s Base Realignment and Closure act (BRAC)Huntsville’s economy is beginning to recover from the recession.” The report says that Redstone Arsenal will continue to drive high-wage employment, helping business and profes-
sional services to stabilize in the short run and drive industry growth over the medium and long run. The report cites two major contracts awarded to Dynetics (a Marshall IT contract valued at $355 million) and SAIC (AMRDEC Software Engineering Directorate contract valued at $848 million) as examples of this. Moody’s says that BRAC will continue to fuel recovery as will continued investment in infrastructure. Improvements in infrastructure will help raise Huntsville’s long-run potential growth rate as the area becomes even more accessible, according to the report. Huntsville and other Alabama metros ranked near the top in forecasts on employment growth. Huntsville ranked No.2. Other Alabama metros included: No. 23 Auburn, No. 29 Montgomery, No. 53 Birmingham, and No. 61 Tuscaloosa. Chamber Board Chairman Don Nalley praised the report and the projected success of other communities in Alabama.
“This Chamber and both elected officials here as well as other community leaders work diligently to reach out to our state partners in economic development and in our other communities. We want this entire state to know that what is good for Huntsville’s MSA is good for the state, and what is good for the state Washington is good for Huntsville’s MSA,” Nalley said. “And we should Update 2010 take some state pride in some of these rankings... four of the top 7 right here in Alabama. And the Birmingham MSA was ranked 17th by Moody’s in this category. “We echo Governor Riley’s statement that Alabama is open for business. We know you won’t find a better location and an area more ripe for economic development than our community – and we are going to reach out across our targeted industries in 2010 to make sure that everyone knows the value of growing and expanding in the Huntsville MSA. There is not a better state in this country to be in right now than Alabama.” •
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For more information: www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/chamber/programs/small_biz/smallbiz.html
And the Winner Is... Three Local Companies Named Among Nation’s Best Small Businesses
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he U.S. Chamber of Commerce named Appleton Learning, Eagle Collision Center and Nesin Therapy Services Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners. The three Madison County companies were the only winners from Alabama. The Sam’s Club-sponsored Blue Ribbon Small Business Award pays tribute to businesses showing financial growth, investment in staff training and motivation of employees, community involvement, customer service and business planning. All three companies are past winners of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/ Madison County’s Small Business Award. As a result, the three companies were nominated for the U.S. Chamber Small Business Award, which will be announced in March 2010. Only 75 businesses in the nation received Blue Ribbon awards. “The win by these three companies shows that our local small business awards ceremony really does honor the community’s best small businesses. This Blue Ribbon honor validates what we as a community already know about our small businesses – that they are the best of the best,” said Jenni Jeffers, director of small business/membership services at the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. “The Blue Ribbon Small Business award is about more than recognizing financially successful businesses. It’s about honoring those that show a commitment to their employees, sound business practices and bettering their communities,” said Thomas J. Donohue, U.S. Chamber president and CEO. Millennium Systems Services, also a winner of the Chamber’s small business awards in 2009, was one of only 25 companies named as a Free Enterprise Honoree. •
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Often referred to as the “E-Harmony” of tutoring, Appleton Learning Center matches students to the perfect instructor according to unique needs, personality and learning style. Shying away from standardized curricula, Appleton develops individualized tutoring programs for each student.
Eagle Collision Center has raised the bar on quality and customer service in the collision repair business and its successful marketing and performance has earned steady business from rental fleets, government agencies, corporate fleets and retail customers.
Nesin Therapy Services provides out-patient services including orthopedic conditions, sports injury rehabilitation, women’s health issues and neurological rehabilitation. Its staff possesses extensive credentialing including six certified orthopedic specialists, the highest number in Alabama.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS continued from page 17
AirTran Airways to Initiate Service at Huntsville International Airport
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle discusses the importance of having AirTran in the community. AirTran will fly non-stop to Baltimore and Orlando beginning in May.
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AirTran Airways recently announced new non-stop service to Huntsville from Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and Orlando (MCO) beginning May 27. The new flights will operate daily. “Huntsville is known as the ‘Rocket City’ and AirTran Airways is pleased to take the residents of northern Alabama to new heights of air travel,” said Kevin Healy, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Planning, AirTran Airways. “Connecting Huntsville to two of our largest operations gives residents access to our award-winning service and low-fares.” Don Nalley, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors, praised the announcement as a means of lowering Huntsville’s airfares and opening the community up to more flights. “Each year, nearly half a million people from within our community drive to competitive airports to take advantage of lower fares. The announcement today is an excellent first step to providing all of Nalley the citizens of the Tennessee Valley more air travel options and phenomenal savings. This is an exciting first step. If we get the business community and our residents
to support this endeavor so AirTran adds the Atlanta service, our residents will enjoy more air travel options to more destinations with guaranteed lower fares. It is certainly in our best interest to continue to promote this program to all of our businesses and residents in the community,” Nalley said. “We are thrilled to welcome AirTran as the new low-cost carrier for the Tennessee Valley region,” stated Bill Johnston, Jr., Chairman, Board of Directors, Huntsville International Airport. “The addition of BWI and MCO to the list of non-stop Low Cost destinations for our market is inAir Carriers valuable. With Washington, D.C. as our number one market, the addition of BWI will provide our passengers with even greater flexibility. As well, Orlando is among our top three markets, and the implementation of this destination will help to fill a void for our community after having lost the MCO non-stop service in 2008.” While officials at Huntsville International Airport recognize the tremendous benefits the new non-stop service will provide to these markets, they are quick to point out that additional AirTran service will depend upon the support of the community. Huntsville International Airport Executive Director Rick Tucker encouraged the community to commit a sustained effort to securing lower air fares. Tucker “Attracting and sustaining a low-cost carrier is a community-wide issue that affects each and every one of us – from the leisure traveler to the business traveler alike. The $1 million Small Community Air Service Development grant recently awarded by Department of Transportation was a major stepping stone toward attracting AirTran to serve Huntsville, and the funds will be used as risk mitigation to offset operating expenses of initiating the service within our market,” Tucker said. “However, the full benefits of AirTran’s service will be seen with the addition of the Atlanta market, which hinges solely upon the support of the community. The Atlanta market would be AirTran’s gateway to the entire United States in terms of air travel for our community and would be the determining factor in our passengers saving an average of 40 percent on airfares, yielding a total savings in excess of $60 million per year for our community. Now more than ever is the time when we look toward the community to pledge its financial support and bring the Atlanta service to Huntsville.” • ~ Economic Development Highlights compiled by John Southerland & Harrison Diamond Initiatives April 2010
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why we
explore by Michael D. Griffin
T
More information on page 27
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April 2010 Initiatives
he term “exploration”, in the context of “space exploration”, is lately much in the news in our region. This is entirely appropriate. Alabama generally and Huntsville in particular are critically dependent for our economy and the livelihood of our citizens on the willingness of national policy makers to allocate significant sums toward the accomplishment of cutting edge missions and the development of the technology to accomplish them. Many of us see this ‘up close and personal’ every day that we go to work, whether we work at NASA, UAHuntsville, HudsonAlpha, MDA, Dynetics, AMRDEC, Digium, SMDC or any of the many other high-tech enterprises, public and private, which define the landscape of our town. For those who work in the civil space program, life today is more than a bit uncertain. The cutting edge is no longer the International Space Station. That project is, finally, almost done – and done well, as it turns out. And, after thirty years of service, the Space Shuttle that was used to build it will be retired. One way or another, the systems and projects with which all of us who worked on them are so familiar will be behind us – either in daily operational use, or in museums. One way or another, we will move on. And that is lately a cause for concern, because what we are moving toward looks pretty scary. President Obama has submitted a budget request to Congress that, quite deliberately, takes the United States out of the human space exploration business in favor of the development of new technologies directed toward no particular mission goal. For the first time in its more than 50 years, NASA will be an agency without a significant human spaceflight goal. Human spaceflight, if the United States engages in it at all, will be accomplished either as a paying guest of the Russians, or by private commercial operators of new human spaceflight systems which do not yet exist. Either way, NASA will be out of the picture, other than as a funds-transfer center. Even worse is the larger picture; let us say that these companies are successful, that they can and do manage to develop new vehicles to take U.S. astronauts back into Earth orbit. In all reason, that accomplishment alone would be one for the ages. But to reach Earth orbit is no longer to put Americans on the frontier. It was once – when John Glenn flew into space for the first time, in 1962. When he went again, in 1998, it was not. In our time, the next stop on the real frontier is the moon, not just to visit for a few days in a few spots, but to go again and stay, to build up a permanent outpost, as we have done over the last 50 years in Antarctica.
”
– Dr. Wernher von Braun
and why we should Eminent Scholar & Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UAHuntsville Now we won’t be going. We as yet have no idea what we could learn there, what will be important to do, and what will not be important. That is precisely the point of going, precisely the point of exploration. When we are doing scientific work, generally we are, in the words of a former Secretary of Defense, probing “known unknowns”. Generally, we are seeking answers to specific questions which we know how to pose. When we explore, we are trying to define the questions themselves – we are venturing into the world of “unknown unknowns”. For some of us, for many of us particularly in our region, this is the essence of life itself. And it has for centuries been a particularly prominent feature, almost a defining feature, of the American character. And now we won’t be doing it. Everyone in America today is either newly arrived, or is the descendant of people who were once newly arrived. Some came willingly, others had no place else to go, and some were forced to come here. All of them were people who managed, somehow, to make a new life for themselves and a better life for those who came after. It has worked out pretty well for us. Over the course of just a few hundred years, we have somehow managed We see the transformative effects of to become a people so driven and so energetic the Space Economy all around us through that, with five percent of the world’s population, we control twenty-five percent of its wealth. It is numerous technologies and life-saving the fashion nowadays, in some quarters, to label this behavior as “selfish”. A more accurate label capabilities. We see the Space Economy might be “winners”, winners in the competition in the lives saved when advanced breast that is a core feature of life on Earth. But with the exception of the aboriginal Amercancer screening catches tumors in time ican populations – earlier immigrants, if you will, for treatment, or when a heart defibrillator who were displaced by later immigrants – it has not been a game of winners and losers. On the restores the proper rhythm of a patient’s contrary, American inventiveness, and American heart….We see it when weather satellites receptiveness to the inventiveness and inventions of others, has enormously benefitted almost every warn us of coming hurricanes, or when other society on Earth. The competitions we ensatellites provide information critical to gaged in, the struggles we endured as we settled a continent, have produced not winners and losers, understanding our environment and the but winners and other winners. The exploration effects of climate change. We see it when and exploitation of the American continent has in every real sense benefitted all human societies, we use an ATM or pay for gas at the pump whether those societies realize it or not. with an immediate electronic response So, why do we explore? We do it because it is, literally, in our genes. Each and every one via satellite. Technologies developed for of us is the descendant of successful explorers, exploring space are being used to increase people who migrated outward from East Africa and, eventually, all over the world. Our concrop yields and to search for good fishing tinent is merely the latest, and last, in a long
“
regions at sea.
”
– Michael Griffin
continued on page 24
Constellation Cancellation Impact Extends to Marshall and Beyond
ON TH E COVER
“
I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution.
At the heart of the U.S. space program lies the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and its unparalleled rocket development capability. Every U.S. rocket to launch astronauts into space (except the converted ICBMs used during the Mercury and Gemini programs) can trace its lineage to this 1,900 acre complex of office buildings, laboratories, manufacturing facilities and test ranges. Since 1960, MSFC has been in the business of developing rockets to carry people into space. Before it produced the rockets that took man to the moon, the people working there were busy building the Army’s missile program, marking a 60-year tradition of rocket development. Earlier this year, the Obama Administration proposed a NASA budget that would essentially take this world-class team of rocket developers out of the business of putting people into space. Instead, President Obama's plan would hand this effort off to a yet-to-be-identified group of commercial rocket developers. Such a move is sure to trigger the longest void in U.S. crew access to space in the history of our nation’s space program. Once before in our space faring past, the U.S. endured an extended lapse in crew-access to space. For almost six years, from July 1975, following the Apollo-Soyuz mission, until April 1981, when the Space Shuttle Columbia first flew, the U.S. sat on the space exploration sidelines. The second Space Shuttle disaster in February of 2003 gave rise to the Vision for Space Exploration plan to retire the space shuttle and replace it with the Ares Rockets. The 2004 vision set a clear goal of lunar exploration and ultimately trips to Mars and beyond. That same vision recognized
continued on page 26 Initiatives April 2010
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Why We Explore, and Why We Should, continued from page 23 – series of venues to be explored, exploited, and settled by human beings. We are out of places to go on Earth; yet it is – again quite literally – in our genes to keep going. Exploration is tough on individual explorers, but hugely beneficial for the human race as a whole. But now, if we want to explore further, we have to go out into space, we have to voyage in different kinds of ships to very different kinds of lands. Wherever we go, we will find energy and raw materials to build outposts, bases, research stations and, eventually, permanent settlements. What we learn in so doing will come back to Earth in the form of new knowledge, new ways of thinking, new materials, new processes, new cultures, and new paradigms – all of it adding up to a new and much richer society than we would have had otherwise. And this is why we should explore; ultimately, our goal should be to honor the sacrifices of our ancestors by leaving behind a richer, fuller, more exciting set of options, a more exciting world, for our descendants. In our hearts, we know this, all of us. And that is why at this time so many in the space business are so concerned. An immigrant waiter in a Florida restaurant at which I often dine expressed this to me a few weeks ago, and did so as well as I have heard it said. He had approached me to inquire about what he thought was surreal news, the proposed cancellation of the Constellation Program, and with it the goal of the moon as the next phase of American exploration. After I had assured him that the news was in fact true, he said, as closely as I can recall, “This is devastating. And I do not speak of jobs, I do not speak of the economy – I speak of vision, I speak of the future. Do these people not know what it is to be a superpower? When I was a little boy in Italy, I wanted to come to America because this was a place that could send people to the moon, a place that could launch space shuttles. What are they thinking? Do they not understand the future?” That is a really good question. How are we going to answer it?
• Michael D. Griffin Eminent Scholar and Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering University of Alabama in Huntsville 24
April 2010 Initiatives
Growth Through Networking The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County hosts numerous events each month to create networking and business growth opportunities for members and to coordinate efforts to grow our community. Examples of recent events include:
Regional Business After Hours January 14, hosted by the Port of Huntsville
Col. Robert Pastorelli was one of many who came to network and see the new improvements at the Huntsville International Airport.
Breakfast & Biz January 21, presented by Verizon Wireless, co-hosted by Embassy Suites and Ruth's Chris Steak House
Members know that five minute speed networking helps them grow their businesses, and they came out in force for the year’s first Breakfast & Biz.
Business After Hours February 11, presented by and located at The SmokeHouse Restaurant
The room was filled to capacity as more than 350 people made business connections and tasted great food at one of the area’s newest restaurants. Chamber members benefit from networking events, electronic and printed publications, educational programs for small business and, perhaps most importantly, the knowledge that they are part of a collective effort to establish Huntsville/Madison County as a stronger, more visible community in the global competition for economic growth.
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Constellation Cancellation Impact, continued from page 23 –
Ares I-X test rocket, photo courtesy of NASA that the Shuttle’s inherent safety limitations made the development of a new launch system essential. The Ares program was on schedule to deliver rockets to carry crew to space by 2015. The Administration’s proposed NASA plan does not set a timeline for returning humans to space. Cancellation of the Ares I and Ares V rocket programs, would have negative implications for the Marshall Space Flight Center. Roughly 6,500 people work at MSFC, a large portion of whom support either the Space Shuttle or Ares programs. About 1,800 people in north Alabama and southern Tennessee are currently working on the Ares rocket program. Idling this world-class workforce would be a tremendous concern. No other nation in the world and no other workforce on the planet has been able to accomplish what the rocket development team at the Marshall Space Flight Center has done. Once lost, such a capability might not be recoverable. The Administration’s proposed FY 2011 budget would pump more money into the research and development of new rocket technologies, a potentially good thing for MSFC; however, such requirements would certainly require a smaller workforce and potentially much less infrastructure. Congressional sentiment would seem to favor continuing the Ares program. The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County is part of a community wide coalition headed by Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and former U.S. Congressman Robert “Bud” Cramer. The “Second to None Space Exploration Initiative” is devoted to educate and provide support on a local, state, regional and national level for the Ares program. Only time will tell if this effort will be successful. • Mike Ward 26
April 2010 Initiatives
“
…as wise as Ben Franklin was, he didn’t have the faintest idea of the great
benefits that were in store for mankind as a result of the first faltering experiments that he and others at that time carried out. But Franklin did have scientific curiosity. It was curiosity that made him go fly a kite that day.
At right: Dr. Wernher von Braun
It is curiosity that sets man apart. It is curiosity that makes him learn.
Middle: Dr. Jan Davis
This has been true throughout history… first curiosity; then learning; then advancement. I am convinced that the exploration of outer space will produce undreamed of benefits for us.
”
– Dr. Wernher von Braun
“
For the eyes of the world now look
into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding. Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space-faring nation.
We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.
– President John F. Kennedy
“
”
Don’t let anyone rob you of
your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity.
”
– Astronaut Mae Jemison
NASA: in Everything You Do, Everyday Proponents and historians will argue that NASA’s manned space exploration is much more than just traveling to the moon, to Mars or beyond. And it is hard to argue those facts when you consider the technology that has been gained, and even commercialized in development of the human spaceflight program. In fact, thanks to technology spawned by NASA’s manned space flight program since the 1960s, you may be surprised to know that NASA is part of your every day life. For instance:
◆ You went to the ATM to get money on your way out for a night on the town. That technology is based on computers used by NASA. ◆ You hit a great drive on a par-5 and eagled because of composites in your driver made from NASA technology in Huntsville. ◆ You watch TV in crystal-clear picture from a satellite dish based on NASA technology. (Or—You watch your favorite PGA Tour golfer on television. The PGA match you are watching so clearly is also being transmitted by satellite based on NASA technology.) ◆ You’re sticking that thermometer where? NASA technology allows for temperature to be taken out of the ear instead of the mouth. ◆ Smoke detectors are based on NASA technology from the Sky Lab days. NASA is the difference between a burning pot roast and a burning house. ◆ Some of the most effective sunglasses on the market are based on technology that was created for NASA employees. ◆ The car you drove in to work today went through several designs before the first prototype was built. The technology to test a car without even building it was created from NASA technology. ◆ We live in a wireless world and our tools are no exception. If you used a cordless screwdriver today, you can thank NASA. ◆ Flashlights use redundant power and light bulbs to ensure light based on the same redundancy power support used in the space program. ◆ NASA scientists developed ceramics for aircraft and spacecraft that are now used in invisible braces. ◆ Video games are popular recreational activities. The iconic joystick was originally developed for the lunar rover— The first automobile produced in Alabama. ◆ Would you like a bottle of NASA? If you can’t live without your bottle of water, NASA is the reason. NASA originally developed the plastics used for these bottles as circuit boards. ◆ The Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge, two iconic symbols of America, are both covered in NASA. NASA developed a protective coating used to protect launch stands from warm, humid, salty air. ◆ Purified water is made possible from NASA technology. ◆ Cancers and other maladies are found early and treated immediately because of CAT scans and MRIs, both of which originated out of technology created during the Apollo program. And that’s just a few of the everyday uses NASA technology has given you! • Initiatives April 2010
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2009 Small Business Awards Winner – Young Professional of the Year
Olly Orton How long have you been in Huntsville? I came in 1981 by way of Long island, New York and London. Why did you stay in Huntsville? I recognized that there was an immense amount of potential in Huntsville and saw where it was headed and what it could be and I made a conscious decision to change careers and stay in Huntsville so I could prosper and contribute to its success. Why do you think you have been successful in Huntsville? Because I care and I am able to communicate and connect with people to make change. I work long and hard with passion and creativity to develop solutions to community challenges. There is a concerted effort in our community by the preceding generations to open its arms and doors to young professionals to help us succeed. What has been your greatest achievement? My greatest accomplishments have been the success I have helped my clients achieve. I know that I am well known for my service in the community but I feel most passionate when I serve my clients. I am committed to helping my clients understand their needs and articulate and formulate a vision for their life’s outcome. I turn that vision into a financial plan by applying wealth planning strategies to ensure they reach their life goals. And when that happens, I feel most successful. What are your goals for the next five years? I recently partnered with Grant Thompson to form the Thompson Orton Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. We developed a financial advisory practice that provides unparalleled service to clients that are as committed to their businesses and lives as we are. I look forward to our practice being one of the most respected financial advisory groups in our state. I also want to grow my opportunities to speak on a national scale to others about effective life building skills. What is your vision for your future? I suspect in my fifties that I will get into politics and continue to be open to the possibilities of public service. How has being active in the Chamber helped you? I have greatly enjoyed a continuous relationship with the Chamber. It has helped me grow my practice and connect with other business and elected leaders in the community and understand the various engines that drive our local economy and workforce. • 28
April 2010 Initiatives
Madison County Job Growth Continues in 2009 D
espite an overall national economic slowdown, Madison County continued to experience steady job growth over the past year. For 2009, local new and expanding companies in primary industry sectors announced 2,027 new jobs and $219 million in new capital investment. The announcements, coming from 31 companies, placed Madison County second in the state for announced jobs and third for capital investment based on preliminary numbers from the Alabama Development Office. The growth is especially strong considering rising unemployment and job losses across the state and nation. Madison County’s unemployment rate currently stands at 8.7 percent compared to 11.8 percent for Alabama and 10.6 percent for the U.S. as a whole. Growth from aerospace and defense companies tied to Redstone Arsenal comprised the core of the area’s new jobs with advanced manufacturing and life sciences also contributing to the growth. Brian Hilson, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County, said the numbers continue a trend where Madison County has been ranked first or second in Alabama in new and expanding jobs for the past 27 years. “The new and expanding industry report shows the vitality of our community. It certainly shows that even in a difficult national economy, our community still has one of the best employment situations in Alabama and in the nation. And something we want to take Hilson pride in is the fact that our announced jobs are attractive, high paying jobs,” Hilson said. Key companies announcing new projects included major government contractors with new growth in Cummings Research Park and Jetplex Industrial Park. Dynetics, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, S3 Inc., Lockheed Martin and Analytical Services each announced new jobs in 2009 as part of their overall growth in the community. The U.S. Army’s growth through the Base Realignment and Closure process an-
Huntsville/Madison County continued to see job growth in 2009 despite the overall national economic slowdown. Companies in advanced manufacturing, life sciences, aerospace/defense and IT contributed to Huntsville/Madison County’s job growth and extending Huntsville’s trend of being either first of second in the state for announced new and expanding jobs since 1990. Pictured here is Dynetics, which announced 250 jobs in 2009.
7,000 6,000
7017
Announced New & Expanding Jobs –
5,000
2,000
4602
4155
4,000 3,000
5461
Huntsville/Madison County
2580
2316 2342 2463
2324 1488
3814
3618
2608 1923
1728
2251
4181
3811
2027 1458
1,000 0 #1 in State
#2 in State
continued on page 32 Initiatives April 2010
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Local Workforce Initiative Gets National Recognition
T
hree years ago, representatives with the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County met with officials from Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, Tenn., about a concept that would offer part-time jobs and focused engineering curriculum to non-commissioned officers separating from the military. The program, called NEW-STEM, was launched in the fall of 2009 with nine participants. The innovative program was profiled in the February 2010 issue of GI Jobs magazine. GI Jobs reaches 70,000 service personnel each month who are planning for a civilian career. Managed locally by Akins Crisp, NEW-STEM is a program of the Tennessee Valley Corridor. NEW-STEM stands for NonTraditional Emerging Workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The program supports the development of a high-tech workforce through the placement and hiring of newly-separated or recently retired Warrant Officers (WO), ranks W1-W5, and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO), ranks E5-E9 searching for the next step in their career. Due to their maturity, technical training and hands-on experience, these WOs and NCOs separating from the military in the next five years provide an excellent near-term source of potential engineers for this region. These highly skilled individuals can help fill the gap to keep the region technically competitive while, at the same time, they will be given the opportunity to increase their family’s financial security. The program staff recruits these candidates and presents them to the participating organizations during a selection committee meeting, so there is little to no recruiting cost for the participating organizations. This is a significant win-win situation for the participating organizations, the region and the recruits. Military service veterans are in high demand by local employers for their relevant work experience and maturity, and this program makes them even more valuable through completion of an engineering degree. The NEW-STEM Program links newly-separated or recently retired WOs and NCOs, who have experience and previous academic coursework in a technical area, particularly engineering, with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAHuntsville) to complete a bachelor’s degree in engineering. While at UAHuntsville, candidates participate in a paid co-op program with one of the participating federal agencies located on Redstone Arsenal or private sector companies. WOs and NCOs who qualify for the program use their military relocation and GI Bill benefits to move to Huntsville and attend UAHuntsville. Upon admission acceptance, UAHuntsville assigns academic mentors to assist candidates in completing their degrees. After graduation, participants receive priority consideration for a full-time position with the organization that originally hired them as co-ops. Since the pilot program began nine participants have been selected and all are enrolled at either UAHuntsville or Calhoun Community College. These veterans are participating in engineering co-op positions with the Missile Defense Agency, Northrop Grumman, Intuitive Research and Technology, and Raytheon. The NEW-STEM staff is currently seeking additional organizations interested in offering positions for the fall 2010 class, to begin in mid August. Applicant registration for the fall 2010 closed on April 2. • Lucia Cape 30
April 2010 Initiatives
Clockwise from far left: Performer at Panolpy; Huntsville Community Ballet; young artist at Huntsville Art League; Huntsville Symphony Orchestra...
Vibrant Arts Critical to Industry, Workforce Recruitment Efforts
P
erhaps the most important factor for people choosing to relocate to an area is employment opportunities. But once employment opportunities have been identified, quality of life issues become a vital part of the decision making process for many. When attempting to attract industry and workforce to the Huntsville/Madison County community, the high quality of life in the area has proven to be an effective recruitment tool for those who ultimately made the move. That quality of life is enhanced by a low cost of living and higher than average job salaries. The quality of life is also enhanced by other means not easily measured – and the Huntsville area’s thriving arts community has turned out to be a pleasant surprise to many. In fact, newcomers to the community and residents have found Huntsville’s arts community to be as diverse as its industry base. From paintings and sculptures at the Huntsville Museum of Art to plays and symphony performances at the Von Braun Center, the community has something for everyone. This community’s appreciation for the arts can be traced back to the European influence of Wernher von Braun and the German rocket scientists who moved to the community in the 1950s. Von Braun routinely said that Huntsville not only needed excellent schools, but also needed a thriving arts community with museums and a symphony. Huntsville answered Von Braun’s call. Today, Huntsville has Alabama’s longest running symphony orchestra. And for the past 25 years, Panoply, one of Huntsville’s largest festivals held each Spring, has been dedicated to the arts featuring numerous other platforms for artistic expression.
...Huntsville Community Chorus; Artist at Panoply; The Maltese Falcon; Susan Knecht Glass Art
Photos on this page courtesy of The Arts Council
continued on page 33
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Job Growth, continued from page 29 – nounced in 2005 is well underway and continues to pick up additional jobs such as the PEO Aviation’s announcement of 200 new jobs and the opening of the Defense Acquisition University in Thornton Research Park. SES, Inc. announced its continued expansion in the former Dunlop Tire building where the company is refurbishing and modifying helicopters for the U.S. Army. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama gave the community a significant boost by announcing a new production line of engines which will create an additional 240 jobs with $147 million in new equipment and investment. The new line will produce 4-cylinder engines for cars in addition to V6 and V8 engines already being built for Toyota trucks and SUVs. The announcement brings Toyota’s total investment to over $637 million and 1,000 workers in Madison County. Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, in Chase Industrial Park, also announced an expansion of 100 workers and $11.5 million in investment. New companies to the community included Correlated Magnetics Research (CMR), which is developing technology for products based on programmable magnets; Elbit Systems of America (ESA), which is producing printed circuit boards; Bibliotheca RFID from Switzerland which produces library software; and Decisive Analytics and Troy7, two new government contractors providing engineering and design services. In total, the community’s growth of over 2,000 announced new jobs and $219 million in investment for the year is a positive sign that Madison County continues to steadily lead the state in economic growth. Total employment figures show local growth outpacing the rest of the state and Madison County is positioned to continue its role as leader in the growing economic recovery. • Ken Smith 32
April 2010 Initiatives
Vibrant Arts, continued from page 31 – According to Don Nalley, chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors, the arts enhance the quality of life in Huntsville, which in turn make the community more enticing to industries and future workers looking to relocate. “Entertainment and leisure go a long way in defining a community, creating those places of socialization that bring a city together in unique social environments. The arts play a unique role in this cultural interaction, providing entertainment, relaxation, intellectual stimulus, in short a level of intellectual creativity that is a must to any community focused on being a destination for the best and brightest. There is no doubt that Huntsville has been and must continue being that destination. For that reason, you see improvements and renovation to the Von Braun Center, our Museum of Art and other thriving art centers and events. Participate, or not, we all benefit from the arts,” Nalley said. Many of Huntsville’s art venues have been established for decades. In fact, some of Huntsville’s most well-known art venues are celebrating 50-year anniversaries. The Huntsville Symphony Orchestra is
celebrating its 55th season in 2010. The symphony will have many performances that will be first-of-kind for Alabama and in some cases the world. The 55th season will see works performed by such greats as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and others such as Bernstein and Gershwin. Another long-standing arts organization, Huntsville’s Broadway Theatre League, is celebrating 50 years of bringing Broadway to the Rocket City this season. The Huntsville league is one of the oldest consecutive running Broadway theatre leagues in the nation. It presents five shows a season and has featured such world-renowned actors as Mitzi Gaynor and Robert Goulet. The 50th season saw performances of The Color Purple, Mama Mia!, The Wizard of Oz and a Chorus Line. One of Huntsville’s largest events every year is Panoply. Over the past three years, more than 100,000 people attended the weekend-long arts festival held in downtown Huntsville every April. Panoply celebrates the arts with a wide array of performances, exhibits, demonstrations and hands-on activities for children and adults. Blacklight puppets shown above. And while business growth and expansion continue to define the area, such as at Redstone Arsenal where about 1.4 million square-feet of construction activity is occurring, Redstone is
not the only area of town where construction activity is happening. Huntsville’s arts and performance venues are seeing major construction activity as well. Both the Von Braun Center and Huntsville Museum of Art are undergoing major renovations and expansions. Jeremiah Knight, the Chamber’s vice chair for workforce, said the vibrant arts community is a plus in recruiting workers to the community and plays an important role in keeping them in the community. “A thriving arts scene is very important to workforce recruitment and development efforts. Whether we are trying to keep our graduates close to home or recruit talent from elsewhere, the arts are integral to the overall quality of life in our community. We are fortunate to have a wide variety of professional and participatory opportunities in Huntsville/ Madison County,” Knight said. • Harrison Diamond
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2009 Small Business Awards Winner – Technology category
Davidson Technologies, Inc. How long has your company been in business? The company was founded in 1996. In what industry is your business and what are your principal products and/or services? Davidson Technologies is a cutting-edge technology services company dedicated to providing innovative engineering, technical and management solutions for our defense, aerospace and commercial customers. Davidson Technologies provides professional engineering services, programmatics and executive level consulting support. Background information: After retiring for the Dr. Julian Davidson, left, receiving his award third time, Dr. Julian Davidson founded Davidson from Jan Smith of S3 (the 2008 winner). Technologies because he wanted something more to do. Dr. Davidson dedicated his company to providing high quality engineering and technical services to defense and aerospace customers. Davidson Technologies’ wide range of proven capabilities, a responsive work ethic, and ability to tailor and build teams to address specific requirements provides a commitment to the customer that is second to none. Originally planning to hire only 10-20 employees, the company now employs 180. Dr. Davidson, what has been the company’s greatest achievement to date? Davidson Technologies has distinguished itself in the aerospace and missile defense industry with an outstanding reputation for excellence. Specifically, Davidson Technologies is recognized for hiring noted experts, experienced engineers and scientists dedicated to providing our customers with solutions to complex problems in a timely and uniquely responsive way. Davidson Technologies employees are committed to ensuring that Dr. Davidson’s principles are realized: Customer first, excellence always and integrity before all. The company won the Chamber’s Best Place to Work honor in 2009. What are your goals for the next five years? Continue to create opportunities for younger people to grow and to maintain a reputation for providing excellence to the space and missile defense program. What is the company’s vision? To be a company that is customer focused and solution oriented, all within an atmosphere that attracts and retains quality professionals with extensive technical knowledge. How has being active in the Chamber helped Davidson Technologies? Being active in the Chamber enables us to grow our networking opportunities. We have become heavily involved in developing the Chamber’s federal agenda which is a valuable tool to help our congressional delegation understand what is important to our community and it has helped our company understand what else is going on in Huntsville. • 34
April 2010 Initiatives
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E M P L O Y E E
O F
T H E
Q U A R T E R
Laura Kendrick Executive Assistant
A
fter nine years of working at the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County, relationships are Laura Kendrick’s, the Chamber’s most recent employee of the quarter, favorite part of her job. “My favorite part of my job are the relationships I’ve made. I have worked at the Chamber for nine years, and I love the way important relationships are made and grow over the years. Relationships with community leaders, elected officials, business owners, members of the Chamber who participate in our programs and activities are all vital to the success of our community,” said Kendrick. Relationships with her fellow employees, Kendrick said, are also important. “Relationships with my coworkers is another favorite part of working here. The staff at the Chamber is the strongest I’ve seen. These are very talented people who are motivated to do the right
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April 2010 Initiatives
things for the right reasons, and there is genuine friendship and respect for each other,” she said. According to Kendrick, her job, like most at the Chamber, is rarely typical. “The best part of my job description is ‘and other duties as necessary.’” Her dedication to doing the “other duties as necessary” is the reason her fellow employees selected her employee of the quarter. “Laura is a tremendous asset to this Chamber and to our community,” said Chamber President/CEO Brian Hilson. “Her duties entail working very closely not only with her peers at the Chamber, but with our members, elected officials, community leaders, and business prospects, all on a daily basis. Her enthusiasm and work ethic enable her to handle her numerous responsibilities so well that her co-workers recognized her efforts by nominating her as employee of the quarter.” •
About 30 members of the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee traveled to Ft. Belvoir near Washington D.C. to meet with workers whose jobs are moving to Redstone Arsenal as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisions. Community representatives from the Tennessee Valley met with workers from the Army Materiel Command (AMC) and the Army Contracting Command (ACC) to discuss the benefits of moving to the area with their jobs.
BRAC Update: Recruitment Trip to Lure AMC, ACC Workers Successful
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hen the U.S. Army announced in early 2010 that the headquarters of the Army Contracting Command (ACC) and the headquarters of the Expeditionary Contracting Command (ECC) would be relocated to Redstone Arsenal – it served as a reminder that there continues to be ancillary growth associated with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure requirements. The original 2005 BRAC decision called for relocating the headquarters commands for the four-star Army Materiel Command and the three-star Space and Missile Defense Command. It also called for the relocation of about 2,200 Missile Defense Agency jobs to Redstone from the National Capital Region. And the AMC move also included the two-star U.S. Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC), a sub-command to AMC responsible for Army’s foreign military sales. But the move did not require another AMC sub-command, ACC, to move to Redstone. Nonetheless – though not officially part of the BRAC requirement, Army officials made the decision to co-locate ACC and ECC with AMC and USASAC to Redstone. Headquarters, ACC provides global contracting support to combatant commanders, and Headquarters, Expeditionary Contracting Command plans and executes contracting support for Army service component commanders in support of Army and joint operations. Headquarters, ECC also provides support for multi-national contracting requirements. When AMC moves to Redstone, USASAC and the contracting commands will all be housed in a new 400,000+ square foot facility slated for completion in early 2011. So when members of the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee traveled to Ft. Belvoir recently for town hall meetings to recruit AMC workers, the recruitment trip took on added significance thanks to numerous ACC attendees on hand to learn more about living in the Tennessee Valley. At the meetings, the TV BRAC Committee gave three presentations, followed by extensive question and answer sessions with approximately 180 federal workers over two days. Joe Ritch, chairman of the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee, said the visit was important to let those employees working for the moving commands that the community wants them here. “We want as many people as possible to move with their jobs to the Tennessee Valley. Whether they work for the Army Materiel Command or the Army Contracting Command, we want them to consider moving here,” Ritch continued on page 38
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BRAC Update, continued from page 37 – said. “The importance of community leaders from the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee going to meet with those employees is to answer questions they may have and to tell them about the many exciting things happening here in hopes they will follow their jobs.” Ritch said when BRAC impacted workers take the initiative to look into what the Tennessee Valley has to offer, the more likely they are to be impressed enough to move. Community residents in the Tennessee Valley enjoy a low cost of living, high salaries, low commute times, excellent healthcare options and educational opportunities combined with vibrant arts programs and year-round recreational opportunities. “We’ve found that if they will consider us and explore their options, they will be impressed. Thanks to many a number of factors, in general workers will have more disposable income, more time on their hands and the opportunity to improve their overall quality of life, substantially in many cases,” Ritch said. Officials with AMC should be commended, Ritch said, for hosting members of the TV BRAC Committee. “They could not have been more helpful or more communicative. They were great and we appreciate everything they have done to help us with this transition.” Loren Traylor, executive director of the TV BRAC Committee, said the enthusiasm shown by the attendees made it one of the committee’s most successful town hall efforts. “This was a fantastic trip for us. It is critical that we continue to be a unified community that isn’t afraid to travel wherever we need to go to show these employees that we want them to be here. We want them to know that they are wanted – that while change can be difficult, there is an opportunity here in the valley to improve their quality of life, perhaps dramatically.” Similar recruitment trips, funded by the state of Alabama, are expected to be made back to the National Capital Region to meet with workers with the Missile Defense Agency and to Ft. Rucker to meet with workers whose jobs will also move to Redstone as part of the new Redstone Test Center. • John Southerland 38
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“ If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. ” – Ayn Rand
Chamber To Go ‘Around the World’ for 6th Annual Total Resource Campaign Year
Goal
Actual
2005
$400,000
$530,000
2006
$600,000
$935,000
2007
$900,000
$1,201,000
2008
$1,000,000
$1,482,000
2009
$1,200,000
$1,611,000
2010 TRC Team Captains: Chief Petty Officer Chris Lindsey, RBC Bank
Chief Petty Officer Jeff Olson, Computer Troubleshooters
Chief Petty Officer Joe Green, SAIC and Co-Chief Petty Officer Regina Underwood, A Realty Group Chief Petty Officer Lee Lester, Regions Bank
Chief Petty Officer Leslie McGill, First Commercial Bank
Chief Petty Officer Linda Cinader, Wachovia Bank and Co-Chief Petty Officer Sandra Baker, Beason and Nalley
Chief Petty Officer Patti Holmes, Iberia Bank
Chief Petty Officer Shannon Drake, Drako Engineering and Communications
Chief Petty Officer Stephen Hall, Bradley Arant Boult and Cummings 40
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here’s success – and then there is the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/ Madison County’s Total Resource Campaign (TRC). Over the past five years, the Chamber’s TRC has increased from $400,000 to $1.6 million and from 60 volunteers to more than 100. In the process, the initiative was recognized as one of the most successful TRC programs in the country. From participation by local businesses and volunteers to the product selections offered to companies and organizations, interest has increased each year. And 2010 is already off to a great start with more than 90 volunteers participating to date. Joyce Powell, president of YGM, a national TRC consulting firm, said the combination of a high-performing Chamber, a dynamic business community in Huntsville/Madison County and enthusiastic volunteers make for one of the most successful TRC programs in the country. “You have your top leadership involved and you have a synergistic cycle going in which the energy of your volunteers feeds your leadership and local businesses. That is the dynamite in your campaign that allows you to blow the top off your goals each and every year. And that energy and the integrity of your program are what sets your Chamber’s TRC apart from many others,” said Powell. The Chamber’s volunteers began navigating the renewal seas of the 2010 TRC campaign on
March 23 with a goal of once again surpassing the prior year’s achievements. For 2010, the campaign officially sets sail on April 22 with a “launch” event at the Chamber. For the next nine weeks, volunteers will be divided into teams that will gather resources to help the Chamber to effectively carry out its mission of preparing, developing and promoting the Huntsville/Madison County community for economic growth while continuing to successfully position Huntsville, Madison and Madison County as the nation’s smartest place to live, work and play. “The strength and vitality of the Huntsville/ Madison County business community is directly impacted by the strength and resources of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/ Madison County,” said Frank Caprio, TRC 2010 Commander. According to Caprio, this 2010 TRC campaign is going “Around the World in 84 Days” so that volunteers and the community can learn and Caprio recognize that the local economy is driven by global factors and that by providing the tremendous resources needed, the Chamber’s programs and services can meet the growing demand for assistance and support from local, national and international business interests. Caprio is supported by three vice-captains: Scott Seeley,
Bryant Bank; Beth Martin, Worthington Federal Bank; and Harry Waugh, Regions Bank. Nine teams have been formed and include more than 80 sailors and swabs (volunteers). See listing on opposite page. TRC volunteers offer sponsorship opportunities and memberships to a wide range of small and large companies located throughout the area. By using community volunteers, the TRC process allows companies to better align their marketing plans with the Chamber’s sponsorship opportunities for the entire year and to maximize their return on investment. “The campaign offers a one-stop shopping opportunity for our members,” said veteran team captain and Iberia Bank Vice President Patti Holmes. She added that she enjoys participating in the campaign because she gets to talk to a diverse group of people about the community. “The Chamber sells itself and I get to expand my business contacts,” said Holmes. The campaign provides more than just funds to sustain programs for economic development; it also provides volunteers an opportunity to grow professionally, expand business and community contacts, and help the Chamber become even stronger and more vital for businesses in the future. The popularity of the TRC continues with unprecedented interest – even before the volunteers set sail in March. The annual campaign is the only time that the Chamber offers sponsorship opportunities to Chamber members, allowing businesses to plan their marketing budget and making them aware of Chamber programs. Many event sponsorships sell out before the campaign ends, so businesses interested in pursuing sponsorships are encouraged not to delay. Powell has introduced the TRC concept to more than 60 chambers throughout the country and has told the Huntsville/Madison County story many times to potential clients. “Huntsville has helped us improve the resources that we offer our customers by proactively assisting YGM in fine-tuning an already successful program. You are the perfect client. You listened and you got it and your community benefits from that success,” she added. • Loren Traylor For more information about the TRC, contact Loren Traylor at (256) 535-2028 or Donna McCrary at (256) 535-2027. Initiatives April 2010
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Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County
Staff 2010 Brian Hilson, president & CEO John Southerland, communications director Kristi Sherrard, graphic designer Laura Kendrick, executive assistant
Economic Development Ethan Hadley, VP, economic development Steve Finnell, director, industrial development/ existing industry
Rick Davis, director, Cummings Research Park Harrison Diamond, economic development coordinator
Amy Locke, industrial development/existing industry assistant
Governmental Affairs Mike Ward, VP, governmental affairs Tina Leopold, governmental affairs assistant
Workforce Lucia Cape, VP, workforce Mark Brown, director, workforce recruitment Mitzi Floyd, workforce coordinator
Investor Relations Loren Traylor, VP, investor relations Jenni Jeffers, director, small business/membership services
Terrie Ledbetter, investor relations representative Mike Brazier, investor relations representative Donna McCrary, investor relations specialist
Research & Information Services Ken Smith, director, research & information services
Hiroko Sedensky, web designer/research specialist
Kathleen Byrne, information services specialist Donna Dingler, resource desk coordinator
Finance & Administration Christy Nalley, director, finance & administration Jamie Gallien, IT manager Lori Warner, accounting specialist Cassie Scott, accounting specialist Joe Watson, facilities supervisor
Associated Organizations Leadership Huntsville/Madison County Small Business Development Center Alabama A&M University, UAHuntsville WBCNA (Women’s Business Center of North Alabama)
Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County 225 Church Street, Huntsville, AL 35801 phone 256-535-2000 / fax 256-535-2015 www.HuntsvilleAlabamaUSA.com 42
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