Chamber Seminar Focuses on Creating High-Impact Company

 

                The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce will continue its Business Building Blocks educational seminar series for 2010 on August 11 with a program on building a high-impact business.

               The seminar will be presented by Terry Massey, co-founder of AmeriStride, a local business coaching and management firm. The program will be held from noon to 4 p.m. in the Chamber building at 811 Broad Street.

               Lunch will be served and parking is free. The seminar is held in the Chamber building. Cost is $30. To make a reservation, call the Chamber events hotline at 423.763.4366 or email events@chattanoogachamber.com.

               Massey’s topic is “Establishing a Business Rhythm for Creating a High-Impact Company.”

               “Most economies are driven by a few high-impact businesses, typically less than three percent of businesses in any metropolitan statistical area (MSA),” says the business growth and executive consultant. “The definition of a high impact business is a business that doubles in revenue over a period of four years and expands its employee base greater than a multiplier of two or more.

               “Recent studies show that high-impact firms are relatively old, rare and contribute to the majority of overall economic growth.  On average they are 25 years old, represent between two and three percent of all firms and account for almost all of the private sector employment and revenue growth in the economy.”

               Massey goes on to say that unfortunately three out of four firms that achieve this status fail to remain a high-impact business firm four years later, according to studies.

               “Chattanooga ranks 20^th in the country of medium-sized MSAs, with 618 high-impact firms out of a total of 26,343 firms,” Massey says. “This means the growth of our local economy is driven by 2.53 percent of the businesses in our area.”

               Massey says the percentage of high impact firms could grow as high as 4 four percent if companies would adopt a complete approach, instilling business disciplines for establishing strategy and insuring execution. “In so doing, a rhythm occurs strengthening their chances of becoming one of the high impact businesses, getting there quicker and sustaining their growth for a longer period,” he says. “Come and learn how to build a sustainable high impact business.”

               For more information about Business Building Blocks, visit www.chattanoogachamber.com, click on “Chamber Services and Councils” and then on “Awards and Events.”

 

Senator Corker Keynotes Chamber Annual Meeting

 

               U.S. Sen. Bob Corker will be the featured speaker at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting on August 18. 

              The luncheon address marks Corker's first keynote for the Chamber since he was elected to the Senate in 2006. 

               Corker will focus on the nation’s debt crisis as he addresses the Chamber meeting in the Convention Center.  The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. and end at 1 p.m.

               During the Senate’s August recess Corker is scheduled to visit 26 counties across the state to listen to Tennesseans’ concerns, answer questions and discuss major issues facing the country.

               Corker is a member of the banking, energy, and foreign relations committees and the ranking member of the special committee on aging. Corker graduated from the University of Tennessee and was a successful businessman before serving as Tennessee’s commissioner of finance and as mayor of Chattanooga.

               During the Annual Meeting Tom White, Chamber board of directors chair for the past fiscal year, will hand the gavel to Ron Harr, who will hold the position until July of 2011.

               Harr is senior vice president of human resources for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, while White is senior vice president of investor relations for Unum.

               The ceremonies will include recognition of the Chamber Council of the Year and the Chamber Ambassador of the Year.

               For reservations call 423.763.4366 or email events@chattanoogachamber.com

 

SunTrust In-School Youth Bank Opens at CGLA

 

               A ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of SunTrust Bank’s latest in-school youth bank at Chattanooga Girl’s Leadership Academy will take place at 11 a.m. on August 2. SunTrust Banks, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients.

               The ribbon cutting is being arranged by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.

               The SunTrust youth bank is an in-school mini branch limited to deposit-only savings accounts. The purpose of the youth bank is to encourage students to begin saving and to learn about the operations of a bank. The bank is staffed by CGLA students and assisted by CGLA staff and SunTrust teammates.

               “The youth bank is a great learning tool that uses hands-on experience to teach students about finances and the importance of saving,” says Mike Butler, SunTrust Bank Eastern Tennessee Region, president and CEO. “SunTrust is proud to be a solid partner with CGLA to provide the youth bank for the students and give back to our community.”

               The youth bank will be staffed by the participating youth at the school. The staff includes a CGLA-appointed branch manager, assistant branch manager, four tellers and a staff advisor, all trained by SunTrust teammates. In addition, SunTrust teammates will be on-site to oversee the operation. The youth bank will be open Wednesdays, 11 a.m. – noon, beginning Monday, August 2, and operating through the 2011 school year.

               For each participant, one savings account will be opened and SunTrust will donate incremental matches up to $35 per participant based upon the existing balance in the participant’s account. The physical CGLA Youth Bank banking center will be located on-site at CGLA.

               “This is an exciting year for CGLA firsts,” says Shamica West, CGLA principal. “CGLA, Hamilton County’s first public charter school and Tennessee’s first and only all-girls school, is excited to host the first 2010 SunTrust youth bank in the area.”

               The Young Women’s Leadership Academy Foundation established the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA), a 6^th-12^th grade school, to provide girls and young women with a rigorous college preparatory education focused on science, technology, engineering, and math, in a supportive environment that nurtures self confidence, inspires leadership, encourages critical thinking, and promotes academic excellence. CGLA is committed to mobilizing the resources necessary to offer girls a rigorous academic experience that prepares them for college, grounds them in civic responsibility, and positions them for successful careers in a competitive knowledge-based global economy.