WNC business leaders visit Raleigh to advocate for business

Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce staff and 50 business leaders from across Western North Carolina were in Raleigh last week advocating for your business. The Asheville Chamber partnered with the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber, Brevard/Transylvania Chamber, Haywood County Chamber, Henderson County Chamber, and Madison County Chamber to advocate for job creation, regulatory reform, tax reform and education/workforce funding.

The delegation was able to meet with legislators from across Western North Carolina and the House and Senate leadership. This included Sen. Tom Apodaca, Sen. Martin Nesbitt, Sen. Jim Davis, Rep. Trudi Walend, Rep. Tim Moffitt, Rep. Chuck McGrady, Rep. Ray Rapp, and Speaker Pro Tem Phil Berger.

The Chamber’s delegation also made visits to the offices of every member of the General Assembly and let them know the combined Chambers' top legislative priorities. The event was a great demonstration of regional collaboration and advocacy and allowed attendees to network with business leaders from across Western North Carolina. 

Many thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, Mission Health System; Gold Sponsor, Roberts and Stevens; and Silver Sponsor, UNC Asheville for making this trip possible.

Election Recap

The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce strives to represent our member businesses on a local, state, and federal level. The best way to facilitate this work is through the relationships we develop and foster with our elected officials. While Election Day did not bring a great deal of change to the region’s Federal representatives, it did cause a great deal of change on the state level.

The Chamber identifies the North Carolina General Assembly members representing the Asheville Area as the Western North Carolina Delegation. This group includes representatives from Senate Districts 47 (Avery, Haywood, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Yancey), 48 (Buncombe, Henderson, Polk), 49 (Buncombe), and 50 (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Transylvania). It also includes House Districts 113 (Henderson, Polk, Transylvania), 114 (Buncombe), 115 (Buncombe), 116 (Buncombe), 117 (Henderson), and 118 (Haywood, Madison, Yancey).

These Senate and House races saw the majority of incumbents retaining their seats in Raleigh. This includes District 48’s Senator Tom Apodaca and District 49’s Senator Martin Nesbitt. In the House races we have District 113’s Representative David Guice, District 114’s Representative Susan Fisher, District 115’s Representative Patsy Keever, and District 118’s Representative Ray Rapp.

For the new members in the General Assembly the Chamber will work hard to build relationships and work to represent the needs of the business community. This will begin with Senate District 47’s Senator Elect Ralph Hise and Senate District 50’s Senator Elect Jim Davis. In the House the Chamber will continue to build relationships with House District 116’s Representative Elect Tim Moffitt and District 117’s Representative Elect Chuck McGrady.

This will begin immediately as Representative Elect McGrady will join the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Task Force on November 16, 2010 to discuss his priorities for the session. The Chamber will also be hosting the Legislative Luncheon in January before the start of the General Assembly’s Long Session to provide member’s an opportunity to discuss priorities with the Western North Carolina Delegation. We encourage you to watch the Chamber’s weekly ENews letter to know dates and the location of these events.