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 Dr. Robert Witt, President of The University of Alabama, has been elected 2008 Chairman of The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, effective January 1st, following an organizational meeting of the Board of Directors. Witt succeeds Jim Harrison, III, owner of Harrison Galleries.
In addition, Randy Skagen, Vice President & General Manager of Nucor Tuscaloosa, was named Chairman Elect of The Chamber for 2009; Chip Shields, CPA, was re-elected as 2008 Treasurer; and Attorney Dennis Steverson was named Legal Counsel. Jim Harrison as Immediate Past Chair, and Johnnie Aycock, President of The Chamber, will both serve on the 2008 Executive Committee.
Elected as Division Vice Chairs and members of the Executive Committee for the coming year were: Business Development - Mark Sullivan, President of The Bank of Tuscaloosa; Governmental Affairs - Lin Moore, Chairman of Pritchett-Moore, Inc. ; Education & Workforce Development - Terry Waters, Western Division Vice President of Alabama Power Company; Community Development - Nancy Dawkins, Owner of Nancy & Company Jewelers; and Organizational Development - Claude Edwards, President of Bryant Bank.
Witt was named President of The University of Alabama March 1, 2003. Prior to his appointment, he served as President of The University of Texas at Arlington and Dean of the College and Graduate School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, where he held the Centennial Chair in Business Education Leadership.
An active community leader, Witt serves in numerous leadership roles with The Chamber and with local, state and national organizations. He has served as The Chamber's Chairman Elect this past year and as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He is a recipient of The Chamber's Distinguished Service Award.
President Witt received his B. A. in Economics from Bates College, his MBA from Tuck School at Darmouth College, and his Ph.D from Penn State. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Black Warrior Council, Boy Scouts of America and the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority. He is a recent appointment by President George W. Bush to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
"It is a special honor to serve as Chair of The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama," said Witt. "Our community is engaged in an exciting period of progress and change, and The Chamber is uniquely positioned to facilitate and support both."
"The Chamber is a vital part of the fabric of our community, and it is important for our Chamber to maintain our influence and leadership in the areas of workforce development and education, cultural development, governmental and public affairs, and economic expansion, while providing our members with value-added services and support."
"The Chamber is served by an extraordinary team of division vice chairs and directors and a dedicated professional staff. It will be an honor to work and serve with them," stated Witt.
The 2007 officers and directors take office effective January 1st and will be presented at The Chamber's annual meeting on February 8, 2008. |
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 We're sponsoring our area's first-ever E-Cycling Day on Thursday, January 24th from 8 AM to 5 PM in the parking lot behind University Mall. It's a community effort in cooperation with the City of Tuscaloosa.
Pre-Drop-Off will be held on January 23rd from 10 AM to 2 PM for Chamber Members only, as a benefit. Advance notice must be given by calling the Chamber at 758.7588.
GO GREEN in the New Year and drop off any old electronic equipment for safe reclamation, free of charge. Acceptable items are: Laptop/desktop computers, computer monitors, mainframes/midranges, keyboards/input devices, printers/scanners, FAX machines/copy machines, digital cameras/camcorders, PDAs/handheld devices, video game systems, printer cartridges, cell phones/telephones, record players/8 tracks, typewriters, stereos/radios/CD players, projectors/VCRs, CB radios, network equipment, computer parts and cables and UPS/battery back-ups.
Please note that TVs are NOT ACCEPTED.
Voluntary monetary donations to help defray expenses are welcome. Monetary donations from organizations dropping off more than the equivalent of 10 computers or more are encouraged.
The Chamber plans to make E-Cycling Day an annual event. For details, please click here to visit the E-Cycling Day webpage or call 758.7588. You may view our commercial on YouTube by clicking here. |
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Make sure this is on your calendar! Venue is the Bryant Conference Center. Details will be shared next week. |
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The Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame is accepting nominations for the 2008 class of honorees. Deadline for nominations is Friday, February 15.
The Civic Hall of Fame is designed to honor exceptional citizens who have made significant, long-term contributions to the overall development of Tuscaloosa County. We seek to honor "civic giants" that have made an impact on the quality, livability and economic progress of our community. Any organization, business, or individual citizen is encouraged to submit a nomination.
Nominations must be submitted on the official nomination form that is available at The Chamber office, located at 2200 University Boulevard, or online at www.tuscaloosachamber.com. The 2008 Civic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Tuesday, April 22. For additional information, call The Chamber at 758.7588. |
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In the New Year, we hope to better communicate to the community what we do at The Chamber. We plan to tell our success stories more often.
As you know, your Chamber is a private-sector based, volunteer organization representing over 1,100 employers in the West Alabama region. We're an effective advocate for business at City Hall, in Montgomery and in Washington--The Chamber responds effectively to influence the public agenda and decision-makers, contributing directly to the area's prosperity and business environment. We also strive to connect you, our members, with many tools and opportunities to network, to market yourselves and your products and services and grow your businesses.
Some people just don't get it; they don't understand what it is that we do. Our staff, especially our main phone line diva, Lowanda, receives calls on a regular basis from people asking for help with things way outside of our realm. Recently, we've received some really interesting calls and we'd like to share them with you:
A paranoid older lady called convinced that outsiders were tainting our water supply.
A woman in an interracial marriage called to see if the Klan was still active in our area.
Someone called trying to reach their neighborhood ice cream truck.
God actually called for about a week to ask general questions.
An older lady called to ask that we dispose of the dead cat in her yard.
We receive calls about spelling words.
And, about a month ago, a person actually called for help after finding a guy sleeping in a truck camper with 2 bears and an orangutan. That's the best one.
We can only imagine what the City's 311 operators must hear!
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 Harrison Galleries hosted a great combination Chamber Holiday Reception and Art Night dubbed "ARTrageous" on the evening of December 6th. We enjoyed Jazz, beautiful art and the company of each other. The brilliant food, prepared as a special favor by Neil Ravenna of Miss Melissa's Cafe, was unforgettable.
A special exhibit provided by Cooper Consulting Company focused on the Greater Downtown Tuscaloosa plan. The drawings were admired by all in attendance and visualizing the wonderful plans for our city brought about even more good cheer. |
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Wachovia Bank, N.A. celebrated the grand opening of the North River financial center in Tuscaloosa on December 6th with activities and rewards for bank customers and local residents. Prizes included Wachovia Visa Gift cards, tote bags, and travel vouchers for two roundtrip airline tickets or a cruise vacation!
 Located at 4700 Rice Mine Road, the North River financial center is ideally situated in the high-growth area of the Tuscaloosa. The office is one of six Wachovia locations in the Tuscaloosa/Northport area and will offer clients a full array of products and services, including financial planning, mortgage products and origination, and convenient retail banking services.
"We're excited to expand our presence in Tuscaloosa," said Mike Russell, market president for Wachovia in Tuscaloosa. "This is a great market for us, with outstanding growth potential and we want to make sure we provide our customers with the best, most convenient locations."
The North River office is the second new financial center Wachovia has opened in Tuscaloosa this year. The bank celebrated the grand opening of the University Town Center office in August.
Wachovia is currently integrating "green" building materials, designs and methods into all de novo financial center construction. A new wheat board panel product was used to build the North River financial center. The panels are highly insulated, energy efficient, mold-resistant and tested with tornado-force winds. In addition, the panels are prefabricated offsite, reducing construction time by an average of three weeks. By the end of 2008, every new financial center Wachovia builds will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified.
Wachovia encourages consumers to take action to protect the environment. Here are five ways to "go green" with Wachovia. These tips save energy or reduce paper, both keys in fighting global warming, especially since a single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime (Source: climatecrisis.net). These tips also help consumers save time and protect against fraud.
- Sign up for electronic banking statements for your checking and other deposit accounts.
- Sign up for direct deposit of your paycheck, retirement check or Social Security benefits.
- Have your regular bills (phone, credit card, etc.) sent to you via Online BillPay; then pay those bills online.
- Use Online Banking, ATMs or automated voice service to check your account balances.
- Use automated debits to pay bills that are the same amount each month, such as your gym membership or mortgage or car payment.
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Lift Every Voice--Realizing the Dream 2008 Concert is January 19th
Lift Every Voice-Realizing the Dream 2008 Concert is Saturday, January 19th at 7:30 PM in the Concert Hall of the Moody Music Building. Seven Choirs will sing including: Alabama Choir School Shelton Singers; Stillman College Choir; University Singers; Tuscaloosa Citywide Middle School Honor Choir; UA Afro-American Gospel Choir; University Chorus. Tickets are $15 and seating is limited. Call 348.7111 for information.
Huntington's Drive Through Dinner Fundraiser is January 29th
Huntington Place Elementary and The Credit Union of Alabama will hold the 3rd Annual Drive Through Dinner on January 29th from 4 PM to 7 PM. Tickets are $9 and will be sold January 18th through January 25th. Dinner, prepared by Robertson's Barbeque, includes barbeque, beans, slaw, bread and cookie. All proceeds go to Huntington. For more information, call Elaine Cole or Terri Stacy at 342.2652. |
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