Chamber of Commerce

From the chairman J Board of Directors Greg West Mark Rice Natalie Young Billy Taylor Andy Barrow Jose Coker Lorna Ricotta Steve Mannell Larry Keen Jimmy Townsend Tim Richardson Robert Hines Dan Dederick Chris Bostock Darrell Handelsman 10 | Accents • 2011 - 2012 une 30 marked the end of the fiscal year for the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce and marked the end of my first year as Chairman of your Board of Directors. I can't help but be appreciative of all the hard work that has been done by the legions of volunteers, Chamber staff, and the business community over the last several years to create the economic environment where our community can succeed. Take a look at the accolades our community has received over the last 12 months. Expansion and Solutions magazine had named Fayetteville as a top-5 community for attracting defense companies. The Milken Institute named Fayetteville as the 18th best performing city in the country. Just last month, The Daily Beast ranked Fayetteville as the best choice for recent college grads to move and start a career. And according to the latest state workforce report, Cumberland County ranks 5th in the state for adding new jobs. If all of that was not enough, Fayetteville was just chosen as an All-America City by the National Civic League. Our region's economy has also shown robust performance. For the first 9 months of the 2010-2011 fiscal year The Chamber's Economic Development Department reported $127 million in direct investment into our economy and over 800 jobs created. These results were lead by diverse set of new and existing companies in our community which include Embassy Suites, Panera Bread, Goodyear and Strategic Solutions Unlimited. It's important to remember that all of this has happened during a period while our Jeff Schumacher TJ Jenkins Vinnie Venturella Breeden Blackwell Colonel Steve Sicinski Kenneth Edge Dale Iman Floyd Shorter James Martin John Meroski Anthony Chavonne Steve Blanchard Louis Olivera Jon Warren Jenny Beaver nation's economy is still recovering from a horrible economic recession. Look through this magazine and you will see other reasons why Fayetteville/Cumber- land County is a great place to live, build a business, and grow a family. If you're reading this and thinking of moving to the re- gion we hope you decide to locate in Cumberland County. If you just moved here or have lived here for a while and are looking for something fresh to do I hope you will read through these pages – pick something and check it out. I will be doing the same and will look forward to seeing you around town. Chris Bostock Chairman of the Board Fayetteville Chamber of the Commerce

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