Hamilton County Mayor's Office Development Department
Hamilton County is located in the heart of the majestic Tennessee Valley at the Junction of Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville, Nashville and Knoxville are located within a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive of the county. Over 10 million people live within 150 miles of Hamilton County. Hamilton County is at the crossroads of three interstates, the Tennessee River, and two rail lines.
The mission of Hamilton County is to provide a responsive and fiscally accountable government service to our community and to all of our citizens. Our services enhance the safety, health and general welfare of the citizens within the community. Our service oriented philosophy balances various community needs with available resources through a planned approach to the governance process. Our commitment to serve Hamilton County involves teamwork, fairness, quality of life and openness.
Hamilton County is well postured for the new millennium. Many new projects are on the horizon that will enhance our economy through better schools, better jobs and a better place in which to live, work and play. Businesses within the County are developing one of the most expansive fiber optics foundations in the Southeast, which is centrally located around an extensive railroad hub where fiber optics have been laid that will virtually connect us to the future. Our leaders are striving to keep the momentum for improvement going.
Chattanooga Manufacturers Association
CMA was founded in 1902, and is the oldest manufacturers association in the United States.
The founder, Captain C.D. Mitchell, was also instrumental in the establishment of the Tennessee Manufacturers Association in 1912, and the National Association of Manufacturers a few years later.
The Association was formed for the purpose of promoting the general interests of local manufacturers. The initial focus of the Association was on obtaining favorable freight rates for shipment of products made in Chattanooga, and has long since been expanded to include a more specific mission and a broad range of advocacy-based activities.
CMA's Current Activities
CMA is actively involved in the development of a high-performance school system which continuously updates curricula and encourages, enables and empowers students to be responsible citizens and successful at the work of the future.
CMA promotes the establishment of high environmental standards based on sound science, while opposing bureaucratic excesses that demand resources without corresponding improvements in environmental quality or public health. CMA is interested in the emerging concept of "Extended Product Responsibility", in which all participants in the product chain accept responsibility for the life-cycle environmental impacts of product design, materials selection, production processes, and the use and final disposal of the product.
CMA provides ongoing training and development opportunities to assist the membership in acquiring information, technology and expertise necessary for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and to keep abreast of emerging management styles and organizational structures.
CMA assists other organizations in economic development strategies and initiatives, seeking to create a sustainable, complementary array of industries, suppliers and customers that collectively can compete on local, regional, national and global bases.
CMA participates in public utility rate setting processes to assure that adequate, reliable supplies of water, natural gas and electricity are available for industrial use at costs that permit competitive operation.
CMA monitors legislative and regulatory activities with potential impact on business, develops appropriate strategies and action plans in concert with other business and trade associations, and engages law and policy makers to obtain results favorable to manufacturers.
Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
For more than 125 years, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce has brought Chattanooga area businesses together in support of economic growth and initiatives that support the community.
The Chamber has more than 1,700 members, ranging from single employee operations to companies with more than 2,000 employees. These members represent the diverse, dynamic business community of the Chattanooga area.
The Chamber provides a range of services that support the expansion of existing industry, entrepreneurial activity, and business recruitment.
Our mission is to create a vibrant business environment through leadership that stimulates new business development and existing business growth, resulting in a higher standard of living and a better quality of life for the community.
The Chattanooga African American Chamber of Commerce
The Chattanooga African American Chamber of Commerce opened its doors July, 1999 with a membership base of zero. Since its inception the membership is approaching 400. We currently see on average eighty people per month in our offices which gives us a yearly average of a thousand people. Our membership base includes white females, Hispanics and Asians. We exclude no one!
What is this "Black" Chamber thing all about?
Sustainable cities recognize that in order to keep their communities vibrant and strong they need as much emphasis placed on recruiting new industry and expanding existing industry as they do small disadvantaged business enterprises. Most cities can recall the blight they experienced when large corporations folded and relocated to other countries, etc. According to the Association for Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) major emphasis and resources are going towards assisting and maintaining small disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) . This diversity in business development maintains a strong economic future for communities.
Tennessee Valley Authority
TVA achieves excellence in public service for the good of the people of the Tennessee Valley by supporting sustainable economic development, supplying affordable, reliable power, and managing a thriving river system.
TVA provides low-cost, reliable power to Tennessee Valley businesses, as well as an abundance of services and financial resources. It's all part of TV's mission to promote the economic health of the Valley and its people.
TVA's Six Strategic Objectives
Improve life in the Tennessee Valley through integrated management of the river system and environmental stewardship
TVA is committed to environmental stewardship. We will improve the quality of life in the Valley by managing the Tennessee River system in accordance with a strategy that balances the diverse benefits of navigation, flood control, power production, water quality, and recreation for the greatest public good.
Meet customers needs with affordable, reliable electric power
Electric power is the fuel of our regional economy, and TVA's power system is growing and improving to keep pace with the ever-increasing demand. In step with America's energy policy for the 21st century, TVA will play a vital role as a public power provider, dedicated to the public good and providing competitively priced electricity in an increasingly open energy marketplace.
Demonstrate leadership in sustainable economic development in the Valley
TVA will continue to work with the communities it serves in order to help attract and retain new and better jobs for the people of the Valley.
Continue the trend of debt reduction
In fiscal year 2001, TVA reduced its debt by $610 million, a decrease that brings total debt reduction to $2.3 billion over the past five years and lowers the proportion of revenues absorbed by interest payments from 34 cents to 23 cents of each revenue dollar.
Reduce TVA's delivered cost of power relative to the market
TVA will be run as a business, but our bottom line will remain the creation of value for the people. We will be centered on citizens and focused on results. We will be responsive to the marketplace through our initiatives for promoting innovation and competition. We will generate more for less for the good of many.
Strengthen working relationships with all of TVA's stakeholders
TVA will strengthen its relationships with Valley residents, communities, and businesses; with customers and suppliers; and with leaders at all levels of government.
International Trade Center
The International Trade Center of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center helps small businesses develop an international market for goods and services. Start-up and existing businesses with no more than 499 employees and sales of five million dollars ($5,000,000) can receive general services at no fee. The Center provides counseling for potential and current small business exporters, technical assistance, training, overseas marketing programs, a trade lead system, information on customs privileges of Foreign Trade Zones and a library of reference materials.
Richard Jackson
Richard Jackson is the UC Foundation Professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has received several teaching awards at both UTC and Vermont College where he teaches in their MFA program. In May of 2000 he was awarded the Order of Freedom Award from the president of Slovenia for his editing and humanitarian contributions in Slovenia and the Balkans. He edits Poetry Miscellany, mala revija and PM's eastern European Chapbook series, and directs the Meacham Writer's Workshop and East European Exchange. He has also authored five books of poems.
Chinese Association of Chattanooga
The Chinese Association of Chattanooga provides cultural events to the greater Chattanooga area as well as a weekly Chinese language school. The Association hosts events throughout the year, most notably a Chinese New YearÂ’s festival. The Association also provides a forum for aiding local Chinese businesses.
