The following is an excerpt from Tim Belk's speech given at the Charlotte Chamber's Annual Meeting on November 16. Belk is the 2009 Charlotte Chamber Chair and CEO of Belk, Inc.
Good evening. And Welcome to the Chamber's Annual Meeting...Charlotte Remixed. I think we can all agree that things have changed over the past 12 months or so.
You know, we've seen some doors close, and we've seen some new ones open.
In fact, when I took the gavel last year, I quoted the Rolling Stones and said I felt like I was in a cross-fire hurricane.
That was a pretty apt description for the times, but I see some calming of the storm, and look forward to what's to come, both during tonight's event and for the new year that is approaching.
I feel fortunate I have lead this past year both a great business and a strong community organization - Belk and the Charlotte Chamber.
When I look back at the year for Belk, I can't help but remember what Uncle John said to Dad many times . . . he said "I want these boys to have a real job, learn how to take a hit and keep going." When I first heard that, I didn't think it sounded too good, and besides, I thought I already had a real job!
But during these last two years, as I seemed to be taking hits by the hour, I have had to smile as I remembered those words. I felt much the same way with my Chamber responsibilities.
The Wells Fargo acquisition of Wachovia, the loss of hundreds of jobs in the financial sector, the crisis at the United Way, city, county and state budget reductions and the closing of restaurants and small businesses all contributed to the most challenging economic climate our city has faced.
But the climate in Charlotte is improving. We are managing through the tough times and will emerge stronger when the recovery comes.
We will be different, but I believe the best days of Charlotte are still ahead of us.
I felt this even more strongly after the Chamber's Inter City Visit. For the first time, we stayed in Charlotte rather than traveling to another city. We were introspective. I think the participants will agree we saw a different and exciting view of the Queen City, including:
The importance of investing in education as seen through they eyes of an inner city elementary school principal; the richness of the ethnic restaurants on the east side; the cultural appeal of the new arts facilities; the chance to redraw the map of downtown to include Johnson C. Smith University; and the need to diversify our economic base.
We saw the pain points and the opportunities. Now how do we seize those opportunities?
When I began my term with the Chamber, we decided to narrow the scope and focus on four key priorities: economic development, transportation, education and diversity. While we still have work to do in all these areas, we have made good progress.
First of all, economic development...
The Wells/Wachovia transition has gone better than expected. Companies the Chamber helped to attract, like GMAC, NACA and US Bancorp, have hired some of the skilled labor we have to offer. More companies will come.
Bank of America has also played a large and vital role in our community. While we are all aware that they are going through a management transition, I continue to believe that B of A will be a major contributor to the success of Charlotte for years to come. We are very fortunate to have David Darnell as the incoming chair of the Chamber.
Charlotte has emerged as an energy hub with Siemens, Toshiba, Shaw and Ariva expanding their presence. And clean tech is emerging. You'll be hearing more on this later in the program.
Healthcare is another opportunity to diversify our economic base. Two foundation pieces are in place. First, the hospitals have been expanding, and second the Chamber just announced in October that Premier, a national healthcare purchasing organization, is relocating its headquarters here. We now have 75,000 jobs in healthcare versus 55,000 jobs in the financial sector. Who would have thought that?
In transportation, the second priority...
The airport is on track to open the 3rd parallel runway. Light rail is successful. Design studies for the second leg to UNC Charlotte and it's 25,000 students are being funded, which is a good sign.
One of our toughest challenges in transportation is that our road needs greatly exceed funds available. There are no easy answers. However, Governor Perdue, who didn't have to get involved in the 485-loop completion, has done just that.
She directed her Transportation Secretary to find a way to expedite its completion and, just last week, they delivered. Construction on the loop will begin in May and, as a bonus, widening of
I-85 in Cabarrus county will begin in two years. We have not had this type of positive working relationship with a governor in a long time. That's progress.
We continue to make progress in education, our third priority, with rising test scores in public schools and increasing enrollments in our colleges and universities. Despite difficult funding issues, strong people like Pete Gorman, Tony Zeiss, Phil Dubois, Ron Carter, Pamela Davies and Art Gallagher are building their institutions and helping to lead our community. We often hear the question, "Who will be the next generation of leaders in Charlotte?" - these are few good examples.
The final top priority this year at the Chamber has been supporting and celebrating diversity. As our demographics change and we become a different city, both businesses and individuals should embrace these changes and move toward greater inclusion. And we must recognize and support progress in this arena.
If Charlotte is to be truly "remixed," we must ensure opportunity for all.
As I prepare to hand the gavel to David, I simply want to say what an honor it has been to serve as the 2009 Chair. While this year has provided its share of challenges for everyone, it has also taught me valuable lessons that I will never forget:
The importance of narrowing the priority list; of good planning including contingencies, of building relationships across the community; of maintaining a positive attitude despite the headwinds.
We have a strong foundation for success in the Charlotte Region. As we move ahead, we must not only realize our current potential, but also aspire to be even better. Many times in our history, we have beaten the odds, surprised the nay-sayers and accomplished the impossible.
One key ingredient of that success and perseverance is our ability to dream. Our ability to see what we can be. If we stepped back for a moment and dreamed of all Charlotte could be, what would we see?
It's inspirational to see what we can dream of for our community, and even more inspirational to know that people not only see a bright future for Charlotte, but also want to play a role in making it a reality.
