FROM THE PRESIDENT

     In its March print and online editions, Site Selection magazine recognized Baldwin County (designated as the Daphne, Fairhope, Foley Micropolitan Area by the U S Census Bureau) as #2 out of almost 700 counties for the location of new and expanded industrial, distribution, and corporate headquarters type facilities in 2008.  Our organization and several of the new companies will receive special editorial coverage in their May edition, bringing worldwide attention to our great county.

     We continue to see prospect activity in manufacturing, distribution, small corporate and regional headquarters, and in green initiatives.  Due to the world economy, the level of activity does not approach that of three years ago, but in general, potential projects are high quality and high pay.

     In March we attended a targeted recruitment event in Dallas which featured meetings with over 40 site location consultants.  Along with Mobile Chamber and Coastal Gateway Economic Development officials, we had private lunch or dinner meetings with ten of the consultants.  Aggressive networking with and one on one marketing to key decision makers and decision influencers are essential to the location of new high paying jobs.

     Our April 22 Investors' Meetings featured a presentation by Dr. Robert Pittman, Senior Principal of Janus Consulting LLC out of Atlanta.  Robert is one of the world’s leading site selection practitioners and community development experts.  He discussed trends in corporate site selection and provided a brief assessment of some of our county’s strengths and weaknesses related to the recruitment of new corporate citizens.  I would like to thank the sponsors of this event: 

                            

Click here to view the
event PowerPoint presentation.

Robert Ingram
President/CEO
 

 
Workforce Development

     Alliance Vice President Bob Higgins has been appointed by Governor Bob Riley to the Alabama Workforce Investment Board. He serves on the budget committee for the 65 county local board. At meetings earlier this month, the WIB approved $21 million in additional spending from stimulus funds received via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. If your company is considering employee training, there may be money available in the program to offset some of your outside costs. Contact Bob Higgins or Kathy Shumate at the Career Center in Foley for more information. There is also funding to expand technical training in our community colleges and for a summer youth work experience program.

iTen Wired Summit

     The Alliance partnered with the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce to host the spring iTen Wired Summit in Daphne on April 2^nd. The goal of iTen Wired is to “foster growth through innovation” in our five county region (Mobile and Baldwin in Alabama; Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa in Florida). This conference brought together 93 entrepreneurs, investors, and university technology leaders. Our thanks to Dr. Russ Lea at the University of South Alabama for bringing in some of the top experts in the country  in getting the results of creative research out of the labs and into production.  Thanks also to one of our investors, Denise Browning, for pulling together a local panel of active Angel Investors to provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about and potentially tap this source of funding. The next summit in this series will be hosted by the Pensacola Area Chamber this fall.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPOTLIGHT
Don Robinson
Vice Chairman of the Board

     Don Robinson has been a member of the Alliance Board of Directors since 2006 and is currently the Board Vice Chairman. 
 

     Don worked in the retail and wholesale petroleum business for over 42 years.  He founded and owned Minute Stop, Inc., a chain of 20 convenience stores, which he sold in December 2000.  Don currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Superior Petroleum Service, Inc., a  construction, maintenance and canopy manufacturing company in Saraland, AL.   He is Chairman of the Board of CMI Solutions, Inc., a computer software company in Charlotte, NC.  He also serves as Director of First National Bank of Baldwin County.
 

     Don is involved with and held offices in many local organizations including;  the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce Board past Chairman,  the North Baldwin Infirmary Advisory Board past Vice Chairman,  the Bay Minette Industrial Development Board past Vice Chairman,  the North Baldwin Healthcare Authority Board past Chair,  25 years in the Bay Minette Rotary Club past President (Paul Harris Fellow), and the Rotary Retirement Village Chairman of the Board.
 

     Don has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Alabama Oilmen's Association, Alabama Association of Convenience Stores, the National Advisory Group, the Conoco National Jobbers, and the United Way of Baldwin County.
 

     In 2000, Don was named the City of Bay Minette Citizen of the Year and in 1996 he received the Harry Still Community Service Award.
 

     Don and his wife Thelma have been married for 38 years and they have 2 children, Matt and April and 3 grandchildren.  He is a member of the First Baptist Church and has served as the Deacon Board past Chair, the Trustee Board as current Chair and as "Big Bus" driver.  He is also on the Board of Trustees of Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center in Talladega, AL and has served as past Chair.
 

     Thank you, Don, for all you do for the Alliance and for your community!

THE FOUR E’s OF ENVISION COASTAL ALABAMA

     Developed to better define the community’s vision for future growth, Envision Coastal Alabama's regional efforts focus on four sustainable foundations – economy, education, environment and equity. These key focus areas have fostered a collaborative planning process that continues to promote coastal Alabama as the most vibrant region in this community.
 

     To track Envisions progress, each E-strategy is assigned team chairs representing both Mobile and Baldwin counties. These committees meet on a regular basis to coordinate and implement the activities of their team.
 

The following is a report on recent activities and events conducted by each e-team.
Economy
     Coming in June, the Economy team will host a community and economic development summit for area mayors representing the 23 municipalities of Mobile and Baldwin counties. The purpose of the summit is to promote exchange and cooperation between these elected officials to address local and regional issues impacting the cities and towns of coastal Alabama. 

Education
     The Mobile Area Education Foundation in partnership with the Southwest Workforce Development Council – Region 9 has initiated a classroom presentation developed for fourth grade students. The purpose of this program is to encourage early interest in meaningful career opportunities readily available in the coastal Alabama region.
     Known as the “Wouldn’t it be Cool” campaign this interactive program is presented to fourth grade students by volunteers representing local business and industry. This role play exercise is designed to demonstrate to students the importance of teamwork, character and knowledge of critical subjects like math, science and English. 
     Volunteers from the Mobile/Baldwin business community are encouraged to become involved with this effort. If you would like to volunteer your time in Mobile County, contact Mary Ann Napper with the Mobile Area Education Foundation at mnapper@maef.net.  For more information on Baldwin County presentations, contact Melissa Creighton with SAWDC at macreightonshc@gmail.com.

Environment
     The Alabama Coastal Foundation hosted a low impact development (LID) workshop for south Alabama developers, planners, elected officials, engineers and other interested professionals on April 23 at the 5 Rivers Delta Center on the Causeway. The goal of the workshop was to teach attendees how to apply LID principles to construction practices as a cost-effective way to control stormwater runoff, sedimentation and erosion.

Equity
     Beginning in October of last year, Envision became a co-sponsor for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) outreach efforts. Envisions equity team assisted with efforts to publicize this important initiative.  In January, more than 30 volunteers were trained to assist qualified families in preparing their tax returns.
     In December, the Envision Executive Transit Committee reconvened to continue its efforts to promote regional transit coordination.

     Please visit the Envision Coastal Alabama Website for more information www.envisioncoastalalabama.org
 

2009 BOARD MEMBERS