Chamber of Commerce

"Private-sector involvement not only provides the material resources necessary to compete in today's competitive environment for jobs, but it also provides the Chamber and its profes- sional staff with a 'circle of influence' for both deal structure, mining leads, legislative support and certainly local sup- port when hosting clients during the site selection process." —Doug Peters As Chairman of the Chamber's Board of Directors and a director of the Community Development Fund, Chris Bostock has contributed his own funds to help the community. Reaching economic development goals takes economic development ammunition in the form of money, and the CDF's total five- year budget is roughly $6.1 million. About $4.1 million comes from public dollars provided by the city of Fayetteville, its Public Works Com- mission and from Cumberland County. The remainder comes from private investments via the Linda Lee Allan Legacy Fund, named in honor of the late Linda Lee Allan, a self- made real estate professional, consummate entrepreneur and a driving force for economic development and growth in our region. Allan co-owned Consumers Title and earlier founded Single Source Real Estate Services, two businesses that, through her efforts, grew into successful ventures. Allan ran business meetings like a gavel-wielding judge on one hand while on the other hand she shared her talent for baking with those in attendance. She promoted business develop- ment and invariably was the first to raise her hand for civic endeavors, either with check in hand or by giving of her time and talents. Peters said while the public sector has long-supported economic development efforts and should continue, it shouldn't have to do it alone. "Private-sector involvement not only provides the material resources necessary to compete in today's competitive environ- ment for jobs, but it also provides the Cham- ber and its professional staff with a 'circle of influence' for both deal structure, mining leads, legislative support and certainly local 32 | Accents • 2011 - 2012 support when hosting clients during the site selection process." Although still in relative infancy, Peters said the CDF is already effective. "The CDF has already proved pivotal in the Chamber's ability to compete. For instance, we work very closely with a broad network of site-se- lection consultants who represent companies seeking new and expanded locations. The fund supports our ability to create and main- tain a world-class website for this particular effort," he said. To help raise the additional $2 million in private investments needed, the Chamber is asking individuals and organizations to pitch in just as Allan would have and pledge an in- vestment to the Linda Lee Allan Legacy Fund. Chris Bostock, a Merrill Lynch financial advisor, is among those who raised his hand. Bostock is one of several CDF directors and has contributed financially to the effort. "It [private investment] sends a bold statement to existing businesses in this community and to new industry looking to expand their foot- print that the public and private sector have the common vision on what is important for our future economic growth," he said. He and his family moved to Fayetteville almost 12 years ago. "From the first day, this community has truly embraced us, so part of it (CDF involvement) is giving back," he said. "This is also an exciting time in our commu- nity's history and I am honored to be a part of such an effort." H

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