|
 Bob
Morgan
Cheerleader for Charlotte
By Rick Handford
Lynn Wheeler introduced Bob Morgan, the President and
CEO of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Bob graduated
from Independence High School in Charlotte and got his
undergraduate degree in political science from UNC-Chapel
Hill. After graduation, he went to work as District
Director for Alex McMillan. After two years, he went to
work for the Charlotte Chamber, where he served as Vice
President of Public Policy, VP of Economic Development,
and then Group VP of Business Advocacy. He went to the
Gaston Chamber as CEO in 2002, and returned to Charlotte
in his current position in 2005.
Lynn pointed out that since Bob became the CEO in 2005,
the Chamber has been responsible for recruiting over
32,600 new jobs and almost $8 billion in new
investments. Earlier today, Toshiba America Nuclear
Energy Corp. announced that it will be creating 194 jobs
in Charlotte over the next five years. The Charlotte
Chamber is one of the ten largest Chambers of Commerce
in the U. S.
Bob opened by recognizing a few of his friends among the
Rotarians present, including Lamar Thomas, Bob
Culbertson (who recruited over 100 members to the
Chamber in one year) and Terri DeBoo, who currently
leads Chamber volunteers in dollars raised per capita.
Noting that he is an optimist, he set out to discuss the
positive factors in the current environment, beginning
with a comparison of some key statistics in 1932 vs.
2008: GDP growth, (13%) vs. 1.6%; Unemployment, 23.6%
vs. 6.1%; Inflation, (9.9%) vs. 4.2%; and Consumer
Spending, (8.9%) vs. 0.5%.
The Chamber expects a flat local economy with growth
beginning in the next 12-18 months. Job creation will
continue to be 10,000 or more each year (gross, not net
of job losses). Given the state of the economy, this
compares well with the 14,000 new jobs created in the
best year on record or the 12,000 created last year.
Retail sales are expected to be flat in 2009. Housing is
expected to be the sector that leads any rebound, with
an upturn beginning in the second or third quarter of
this year. The apartment market is expected to improve,
in part because of low home sales; and denser
development and downtown housing are expected to
continue, along with increased development along light
rail corridors.
The principal "growth drivers" for Charlotte are the
workforce available here (County population grew 3% last
year and we have a relatively skilled group of available
workers) and the fact that Charlotte is a comparatively
low-cost city in which to live. If the national average
for city living costs is assigned an index value of 100,
then the index for Charlotte would be 94, Minneapolis
110, Chicago 112, Boston 133, San Francisco 172, and New
York City 219. Class A office space that goes in
Charlotte for $28/sf would cost $87/sf in New York.
In addition to the two principle growth drivers, there
are other reasons to be optimistic about Charlotte. Bob
noted that even after the loss of Wachovia's
headquarters, Charlotte remains the second largest
banking center in the country, with New York City and
San Francisco being in first and third place. The job
losses at Wachovia and Bank of America here have (so
far) been modest, with losses of under 1,000 jobs per
bank, as compared to a total workforce of about 35,000
before these reductions. As these workers become
available, Charlotte becomes more attractive to
employers such as GMAC.
Charlotte continues to have a strong manufacturing
sector, providing about 9% of our jobs, and is strong in
transportation, distribution, health care, motorsports,
tourism, and energy. As the chief recruitment agency for
new industry in the City and County, the Chamber's
developers are averaging opening 9 new project files and
making 4.5 client visits every week. These represent
strong growth opportunities for Charlotte, about equal
to the rest of North Carolina.
UNC Charlotte is also a source of opportunity for our
area. Bob regards the next ten years as the "Decade of
UNCC". The University has funding for a new energy
production research center, which will provide
additional support to Charlotte's growing energy sector;
they broke ground recently on a new building in Uptown;
they are a factor in bringing a medical school to the
area; and they are expected to grow from 23,000 to
35,000 students.
In addition to working to grow the economy, the Chamber
is a voice for business in our area. The Chamber
believes that transportation infrastructure is a key to
Charlotte's future growth, and supports investments in
the areas of air transportation (currently adding a
third runway), roads, and mass transit.
The Chamber also works to support its 3,700 member
companies, saying, "We exist to help you survive and
thrive". The Chamber is working with several partners to
help Charlotte be one of the first cities to emerge from
this recession, including: the Carolinas Minority Supply
and Development Council, the City of Charlotte,
Mecklenburg County, CPCC, Queens University, the Small
Business & Technology Development Center, the US Small
Business Administration, Office Depot, the Charlotte
Business Journal, and the Employer's Association.
As a cheerleader for Charlotte, Bob likes to think of
the Chamber's role in the context of this quote from
Andrew Jackson. "In doubtful moments, people need
someone who can reassure them amid danger." The outlook
for Charlotte continues to be bright. As Bob asks, "In
the current economic environment, where would you rather
be?"
Head Table:
Joe Penner, Rodney Monroe, Mac McCarley, Lynn Wheeler,
Chipp Bailey, Jon Hannan;
Invocation:
John Snyder;
Visitors & Guests: Don Carmichael; Song: Pam
Jefsen; Photos: Bert Voswinkel |
