Chattanooga, Tennessee -- Chattanooga CAN DO to follow Tell the World! Initiative; $6.35 Million Pledged to Date from Early Investors

Chattanooga Chamber Foundation officials announced Tuesday that pledges amounting to $6.35 million have been committed to Chattanooga CAN DO, the second four-year job creation initiative phase of the comprehensive economic development strategy launched in 2003 under the Tell the World! banner.

More than 300 business and community leaders attended the kick off breakfast for Chattanooga CAN DO, a $10 million job growth campaign, co-chaired by Frank Schriner, President of First Tennessee Bank and Chairman of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, and Michael Butler, CEO of SunTrust Bank.

The symbol of the lift off of the new campaign was a hot-air balloon that ascended over the breakfast attendees bearing a banner inscribed with the amount of pledges to date.

Tell the World! is now in the last year of a four-year, $9 million economic development program designed to help existing business expand and to attract new business and industry to the region. Primary goals of Chattanooga CAN DO are to increase employment in the region by 15,573 jobs, including 7,500 high-wage jobs, through 60 new and expanded businesses.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey and Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, who participated in the kick off at the First Tennessee Pavilion, stressed the importance of maintaining cooperation among all levels of government and the business community to continue the success of Chattanooga’s economic development efforts, praised the relationships that have developed between the Chamber and site selection specialists and corporate real estate executives and reminded the audience of major job announcements by T-Mobile, Wrigley, McKee Foods and others that have been announced since Tell the World! began in 2003..

Schriner pointed out the challenges Chattanooga faced at the Tell the World! launch. "We were many years behind other communities in launching our first proactive business development strategy," he said. "Enterprise South Industrial Park was still an undeveloped idea, not a full-fledged, top-tier industrial site. As a community, we lacked an understanding of the economic development process, and no single organization was leading and coordinating the strategy and being held accountable for delivering results."

Butler noted the progress that has been achieved over the past three years. "Enterprise South is now a certified automotive Megasite with its infrastructure in place and an I-75 interchange nearly complete. The Chamber has directly assisted companies in announcing 4,816 new jobs and $327 million in capital investment from July 2003 to June 2006. The number of jobs from newly recruited companies doubled in fiscal year 2004-2005 and more than doubled again in fiscal year 2005-2006."
Butler encouraged those in attendance to provide assistance in moving the community’s economic development efforts to the next level. "Without the leadership of our private sector leaders and elected officials we will never reach the full economic potential and promise of the Chattanooga region," he said. "There is one constant in our equation for success – visionary leadership from our business leaders and elected officials."

Bill Curry, Leadership Director of Baylor School, made remarks about the importance of dedicated leadership in the successful conclusion of any undertaking. He congratulated the many government and business leaders committed to the success of the Chattanooga CAN DO campaign.