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Memo from President Duane O'Neill

           This month will mark the end of another wonderful and exciting year for the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership .  It has been my honor and privilege to serve as chairman for 2006.  Once again, we will celebrate the many accomplishments and achievements of our chamber with our annual meeting scheduled for December 8, 11:30 a.m., at the Jackson Marriott.  We are excited to welcome our speaker, Captain Pete Collins and if Washington doesn’t call, Congressman Chip Pickering will also share his outlook on the next Congressional Session.  I cordially invite each of you to this year’s event.

The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership has accomplished much this year and has achieved numerous goals.  No one person can complete every task or take on every challenge.  However, as a chamber we have worked extremely well together to succeed in our mission to promote the well being of the metro community. 

The MetroJackson Chamber has played a key role in the many legislative accomplishments during the past year.  One issue we partnered with other organizations to address was the recent tort reform bill.  With the help of our legislative committee, the special session called by Governor Barbour was successful in producing a comprehensive tort reform bill signed by the Governor on June 16.  This bill included most of the provisions desired by the business community and has already begun to capture the attention of corporations nationwide.  Another great accomplishment was the Capital City Convention Center.  Your Chamber played an important role in both the passage of the legislation and then the effort to pass the referendum this past election. This project will have a tremendous effect on our community and greatly improve the economic revitalization of the Capital City and the entire metro community.

I am also proud to announce that ChamberPlus, Inc., an affiliate of the MetroJackson Chamber, has launched two new affinity programs for small businesses.  ChamberPlus along with F.A.R.S. Marketing has provided a new business-to-business benefit by creating a program where businesses will be able to collect on NSF checks written to their business and retrieve the bank fees charged to them.  ChamberPlus has also partnered with Office Products Plus to create a program in order to allow businesses to save from 25 to 80% off the list price for the top 500 most frequently purchased office supplies. 

Economic Development was at the heart of our mission again this year. The facilitation of our regional economic development effort, the Metro Economic Development Alliance (MEDA), is a major initiative of this Chamber.  This regional economic development coalition for the MetroJackson area has continued to bring in new projects and consultants into the MetroJackson area in order to expand and progress into future development.  MEDA has also welcomed two new members, Entergy, MS and Copiah County Economic Development District into its regional partnership and is currently working on more additions each day.

There are many projects that have begun this year and must continue on into 2005.  One such project includes the Lefleur Lakes/Two Lakes Project.  Flood control for the Pearl River has been a huge concern for our citizens for years, and we as a chamber should continue our efforts to keep the process on this issue moving forward.  Another continuing issue that our chamber has been involved in and should continue to work with has been the Crime Summit issue.  We facilitated officials from Hinds, Madison, and Rankin counties in meetings to discuss major issues and find solutions to current problems. The Crime Summit has led to a reduction in back log for Hinds County and will continue to help the needs of the tri-county area.  The MetroJackson Chamber is the common thread that weaves our metro community together.  The ability to bring together all major officials from each county into the same room to discuss topics such as education, crime, and the community as a whole has always been an incredible strength of the chamber and I am proud to be a part of this effort.

This year began the first annual C.A.R.E. (Chairman’s Award Recognizing Excellence) Awards ceremony in which we honored the accomplishments and achievements of several metro area businesses.  We must continue a program like the C.A.R.E. Awards in order to encourage and nurture existing businesses within our community. 

Being a part of the MetroJackson Chamber for the last seven years has opened my eyes to many different areas, especially education.  The work and commitment of our metro teachers in the public and private schools has been outstanding.  Our teachers continue to encourage and strengthen our children’s abilities and that in turn promotes our community, our state, and our nation.  Another program that I have been involved in this year is Leadership Jackson.  I believe this program is an outstanding way to develop and help young business individuals to better understand the dynamics of the metro Jackson area and to continue their investment in our community

Membership is one of the key areas making this chamber dynamic.  Membership dollars are the best money spent on your investment, and I encourage everyone to stay involved.  If you would like to learn more about any program the MetroJackson Chamber offers, or have any questions on how the chamber can help you, please do not hesitate to call (601) 948-7575 or visit www.metrochamber.com.  Again, it has been a fantastic and fulfilling year, and I hope to see each of you at our annual meeting.

Holiday Greetings from Image Publishing!

According to the retail industry, the #1 Christmas gift is books.

GREATER  JACKSON, WELCOME HOME   is the new coffee table  book filled with beautiful photography on the tri- county area.  The positive image presented makes it the perfect choice for all of your holiday gift giving needs.

As a Metro Chamber member, you and your Company, may order these books @ $35.00. 

Orders placed by December 3, 2006will receive an additional $1.00 off per book ordered and free delivery to you.

Please email your order to rcoker@jam.rr.com or call Leslie Coker@ 278-7287.