A Look Back on 2007
Chamber Activities Mark Progress for NC Businesses
The start of each New Year presents an opportunity to reflect on our Chamber’s progress and development over the prior 12 months. A look back at our state Chamber over the past year paints a vivid picture of the progress we are making in our ongoing transformation into a true “force for business” to shape the future of our great state.
New Name, New Focus
Our Chamber unveiled its new name and logo at our 65th Annual Meeting in March 2007. The new name, the North Carolina Chamber, more accurately reflects our mission and vision, as illustrated by the logo tagline: “A force for business.” Adopting a new name and appropriate brand image that reflects who we are and our advocacy mission has yielded significant benefits:
- An immediate impact on growth, bringing new companies into our Chamber. Our Cornerstone companies now number 120.
- Increased visibility for our organization as the press, non-members, and others come to understand what we are about and our work to improve North Carolina’s business climate and make sure our state is the best in America in which to do business.
- Capacity to build effective coalitions with other business groups, associations, and local chambers to advance common interests and our pro-jobs business agenda.
New Advocacy Tools:
Member-Driven and Customer-Focused
Our Chamber implemented contemporary advocacy tools to modernize our pro-business advocacy. As a member-driven strategy and agenda are absolutely critical to our success, we have developed tools to open the dialogue between our Chamber and our members on those issues most important to the business community.
The Business Advocate:
Our Chamber launched this e-newsletter to make member communications timelier and more relevant. Our new e-newsletter, coupled with our new Web Site has given our Chamber an interactive Web presence aimed at increasing our members’ opportunities for participation in our advocacy work.
This Week at the Capital:
This past legislative session our Chamber developed a new publication aimed specifically at keeping our members informed of activity occurring within the General Assembly on a weekly basis. Our Chamber’s Competitiveness Agenda was outlined and tracked, which enabled our members to keep abreast of our policy objectives and progress.
2007 GRASSROOTS NETWORK Area Meetings
Following up a successful legislative session for North Carolina businesses in 2007, our Chamber toured the state in preparation for the 2008 legislative session. These important “listening sessions” allowed our Chamber to hear directly from local Chambers and small businesses about their most pressing economic concerns and will help shape our legislative agenda. Those top concerns include healthcare costs, business taxes, workers’ compensation costs, and the regulatory environment.
Gathering Data in Developing Member-Driven Agenda
State of Business Report
The North Carolina Chamber, following through with its mission to make sure that our state is among the most competitive in the nation for jobs, published its first “State of North Carolina Business” report analyzing data collected through polling and benchmark studies and rankings. This report analyzed how North Carolina ranks in numerous economic growth areas, such as tax restructuring and business taxation reform, healthcare costs, and legal reform. While our state is well positioned for growth and continued prosperity, it was important for our Chamber to pinpoint opportunities for improvement that will drive jobs, and capital in our state.
CEO poll
To form a benchmark for measuring the opinions of business owners and our state’s progress over time, the Chamber commissioned its first CEO Poll. The poll measured how business people felt about productivity, taxes, education, healthcare costs, legal and other issues. North Carolina’s business climate ranks very high in many sectors nationally, but state businessowners and operators think there is room for improvement. This poll allowed our Chamber to focus its agenda on those areas most important to our customers.
American Competitiveness Index
At our Chamber’s 2007 Annual Meeting we unveiled our first Annual Competitiveness Index (ACI), which was discussed by economist Dr. Toft. The ACI highlighted areas where North Carolina is doing very well (education, capital formation, and broadband connectivity), as well as areas in which our state can make positive changes that will have a huge impact on our ability to compete.
Chamber Federation: Building Strength in Numbers
Recognizing the importance of a united business front, our Chamber launched a grassroots advocacy partnership with local chambers and small businesses called the Chamber Federation. This Federation represents a powerful grassroots network through which North Carolina’s small business community can unite around a common agenda to accomplish public policy objectives. The Chamber Federation empowers local Chambers and small businesses across the state, engaging them in the legislative process and increasing our collective political influence.
Focus on Manufacturing Industry’s Re-Emergence
North Carolina embodies many of the forces that are re-making American manufacturing. As North Carolina remains one of the largest manufacturing economies in the country, our Chamber is devoted to ensuring that we continue to adapt to industry change. We are committed to advancing the priorities of North Carolina manufacturers and bringing to light the incredible benefits of modern manufacturing.
Manufacturing Council Launched
Our Chamber renewed its focus on manufacturing by creating a Manufacturing Council in May 2007. The Council is committed to working hard in the months and years ahead to help our state’s manufacturers become more competitive nationally and internationally.
Inaugural Manufacturing Summit
Our Chamber’s first Manufacturing Summit in May 2007 was a huge success, drawing nearly 400 leaders in business, government and education, who share the Chamber’s vision for the future of North Carolina manufacturing.
Manufacturing Advocate
As manufacturing issues are a vital part of our Chamber’s agenda, we developed a publication exclusively aimed at keeping manufacturers across the state informed of our advocacy efforts and maintaining an ongoing dialogue. This bi-weekly publication informs manufacturers of important policy issue and our Chamber’s efforts in retaining a growing and successful manufacturing sector.
Manufacturing Study Underway
Our Chamber began its year-long project that will show the economic impact of the manufacturing sector on the North Carolina economy. Our study will show “What North Carolina Makes, Makes North Carolina” and will point to policy areas where our state can make improvements and changes that will enable North Carolina manufacturers to compete with other states and countries and better equip our state to attract and retain high-paying, highly-skilled manufacturing jobs.
Expanding our Political Influence
Gaining Clout and Increasing our Visibility
National Partnerships
In our Chamber’s ongoing efforts to strengthen North Carolina’s competitive position nationally and internationally, we renewed our working relationship with widely recognized national organization, specifically the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA); the American Justice Partnership (AJP); the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM); and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. These national organizations are coalitions of leading corporations and organizations advocating for business growth policies. Our partnerships with these important organizations allows our members to be represented on a national level and bring new resources and expertise to our work in the state legislature on behalf of North Carolina businesses of all sizes and sectors.
NC Wins: $311 Million Returned to NC Businesses
Our Chamber, with support from policy makers on both sides of the aisle, was able to deliver results to our customers this session that will sharpen North Carolina’s competitive edge in the intense, ongoing state-to-state race for jobs and commerce. By building broad coalitions of members, allied business organizations and local chambers that were able to garner support from numerous pro-business, pro-jobs legislators, our Chamber helped make North Carolina an even better place in which to live, work and do business.
Click here to read about new laws positively impacting businesses effective in the New Year.
Click here to read about our 2007 legislative victories.
| 
