February 22, 2008 Board Meeting - Oxford, Mississippi

We had a very successful Board Meeting at the Lyceum building on the beautiful, yet cold Ole Miss campus. Board Members present at the meeting were: Carol Williams, AR; Steve Rust, AR; Tom Edwards, LA; Larry Collins (Chairman), LA; Tom Hixon, MS; John Word, TN; John Butler, TN; and Mike Demster, TN.

Board Members that called in were: Hajo Drees, AL; Sherman Banks, AR; W. Dan Hendrix, AR; Tommy Westfeldt, LA; Cecilia Kjellgren, LA; Dr. Michael Metcalf, MS and Bertil Westin, TN.

Guests were: Liz Cleveland (Global Business Manager, MS Development Authority); Viveka Wahlstedt (Chairperson, SACC-USA) and Mayor Dan Coody, City of Fayetteville, AR (Called In).

Staff present were: Steve Vassallo; Suzanna McMahan and Jennifer Harkins.

Points discussed were:

1. Northwest Arkansas initiative and the January meeting in Little Rock to discuss the parameters of the project. Steve indicated that the long term vision is to create a “Silicon Valley” environment in the NWAR corridor for sustainable, environmentally-friendly businesses and the introduction of new technologies.

2. The annual meeting in May will be in Memphis with the date to be set by Board MemberMike Demster.

3. Jennifer Harkins was re-introduced to the Board as the Chamber’s intern (through July, 2008) and was praised for her membership successes, most recently for AT&T and the Mississippi Braves. Jennifer is a graduate of the Croft Institute at Ole Miss and holds a major in International Studies.

4. The June trade mission was discussed. The Board opted to instead join forces with the Nashville-based health care trade mission scheduled for September 6-8 in Stockholm. John Butler will send the pertinent information to the Chamber office in Madison outlining existing meetings; trip objectives; and areas requesting assistance. SACC USA will also assist in the areas requested for participation.

5. The upcoming April San Diego Edays was discussed. Concerns over the previous Edays as to disappointment with the return-on-investment were expressed. SACC South Central is more interested in established companies interested in expansion opposed to start-ups and individuals in search of venture capital.

6. The Chamber is two Board Members short in Alabama (no going on for two years) and the one Member short in Arkansas. The Board’s objective should be to fill these vacancies by the Annual Meeting in May. Included within this discussion was Dr. Drees’ recommendation that the Chamber place emphasis on the automotive industry (all levels of suppliers) to locate into our region.

7. The business sectors for the San Diego E-Days (Entrepreneurial Days) this April are: clean tech, telecom/IT and military. The event will also be attractive to families interested in a spring ‘getaway’.

8. Steve Rust next made a presentation regarding the NW Arkansas initiative. (Mayor Dan Coody, Fayetteville, AR also participated in this discussion as well as Dan Hendrix.) Steve emphasized the fact that in addition to Wal-Mart being headquartered in their region, there are also 1,300 Wal-Mart suppliers located in that region. Wal-Mart is emphasizing more sustainable practices as is the University of Arkansas.

One venture capitalist was mentioned who is interested in establishing a $100M venture capital firm in the region. A company, EquityNet.com, was given as an example of the types of hi-tech firms being attracted to northwest Arkansas. This company has a modern screening process to assist with business plans. Mayor Coody provided an example of a conference he recently attended with some 3,000 vendors, suppliers and manufacturers of Wal-Mart. These businesses were informed by Wal-Mart that those emphasizing the ‘sustainability movement’ would receive the greatest attention from Wal-Mart in doing business together.

Steve Rust brought to the Board’s attention Fayetteville’s interest in possibly retaining Per-Erik Persson as a consultant in order to expedite (jump start) the Swedish participation in Northwest Arkansas’ sustainability initiative. Per-Erik has been invited to visit northwest Arkansas in early March. A motion was made by Carol Williams to contribute $1,900 (not to exceed) seconded by Sherman Banks to offset Per-Erik’s travel expenses. The vote was unanimous to approve the expenditure. Larry asked for a formal report from Per-Erik to summarize the results of the project should it go forward. Steve Rust stated that if Per-Erik was not retained, the $1,900 would be reimbursed to the Chamber.

Viveka and Cecilia named two universities in Sweden (Chalmers and Växjö) that could possibly form partnerships with the University of Arkansas. Chalmers has enjoyed success with business incubation and Växjö has developed a curriculum focus on sustainability which could serve as a benchmark program with the University of Arkansas.

9. June trade mission proposed for Sweden/Stockholm. Mayor Coody raised the question if the trade mission would include a focus on start-up companies. Larry responded that the project could be structured a number of different ways to accommodate all interests. Larry concluded the discussion by asking each Board Member to submit their interest in industrial sectors to Steve Vassallo no later than March 31 with a reminder from Suzanna. John Butler’s trade mission will highlight the healthcare industry and healthcare management.