2012 Legislative Luncheon

“Being a voice for business is critical work for the Asheville Chamber,” said Kit Cramer, President and CEO of the Asheville Chamber, at the annual Legislative Luncheon on April 20th.

Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce's 2012 Legislative Luncheon

During the luncheon attended by over 150 people, the Chamber unveiled the top priorities of the Chamber’s 2012 state legislative agenda:

• Job Creation including supporting programs that help businesses, regardless of size, to create and maintain jobs.
• Regulatory Reform
• Tax Reform/Fiscal Issues including examining the Unemployment Trust Fund
• Education/Workforce including supporting early education

Find more detail on the Chamber’s state and federal priorities here.

The Chamber’s legislative agenda was presented ahead of the annual legislative visit which is scheduled for May 22-23. This year the Asheville Chamber will be joined by six regional Chambers for the annual Raleigh visit. “Together we’re more powerful,” said Cramer.

The event gave Chamber members an opportunity to meet and hear from the WNC state delegation who each had a turn at the mic. 

Staff, Chamber members and legislators mingle during annual Legislative Luncheon

Here are just a few of the comments from the 11 legislators:

Senator Martin Nesbitt, Jr.

·         “I truly believe you have a legislature focused on the priorities of business in the community,” said Senator Ralph Hise.

·         “I hope going forward we can continue to make NC a better place for business,” said Senator Tom Apodaca.

·         “We are a fiscally strong state,” said Senator Martin Nesbitt, Jr., noting stability, quality of life and ability to educate workforce as strong points for our region.

·         “In order to build the workforce that we’ll need for our small, medium and large businesses, we’re going to have to have quality schools," said Representative Susan Fisher.

Senator Ralph Hise

·         Representative Chuck McGrady noted quality of life is key for our area in attracting businesses such as New Belgium.

Senator Tom Apodaca

Read coverage of the event in the Asheville Citizen-Times and Mountain Xpress.

Legislative Luncheon

Over 160 people attended the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 Legislative Luncheon presented by King Bio, Inc. making the event a huge success.

The Annual Legislative Luncheon allows the Chamber to present its legislative priorities to the Western North Carolina Delegation before the start of the legislative session on January 26, 2011. The event also allowed the delegation to remark on their priorities and what they hope to accomplish in the coming months

The Western North Carolina Delegation was represented by Senator Martin Nesbitt, Representative Susan Fisher, Representative Patsy Keever, Representative Tim Moffitt, Representative Chuck McGrady, and Representative Ray Rapp.

The priority of the General Assembly will be working to balance North Carolina’s budget, which currently has an estimated $3.7 billion deficit. The delegation told those in attendance to be prepared for cuts. The Chamber will work hard to represent the people and businesses of Western North Carolina throughout the session.

If you want to be more involved with public policy with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, consider joining the Governmental Affairs Task Force. The Task Force works to set the Chamber’s legislative agenda and top priorities each year. They meet and discuss issues that will affect the businesses of Western North Carolina. To find out more contact Jeff Joyce at jjoyce@ashevillechamber.org.

Thank you to King Bio, Inc., Four Seasons, Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Asheville, Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College, AT&T, FASTSIGNS, and Mountain Express for sponsoring the event.