Montgomery Chamber Named Top Economic Development Organization

Montgomery, Ala. – May 4, 2020 – It was announced today that the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce has won the prestigious Mac Conway Award for Excellence in Economic Development. This award is presented by Site Selection magazine to the nation’s top 20 local economic development organizations for their outstanding results in bringing prosperity to their communities.

This year’s winners were determined by an index that examines corporate facility investment projects in US metro areas. The scores are awarded on total new and expanding projects, total project investment and jobs associated with those projects. This objective criterion, tracked by Conway Analytics, is used to identify the 20 top performers, which are listed alphabetically by group name in the May 2020 edition of Site Selection.

The Montgomery Chamber is joined on this list of distinguished organizations by the Austin Chamber, The Greater Chattanooga Economic Partnership and World Business Chicago, among others:

Mac Conway Awards (in alphabetical order by organization name)

Austin Chamber (Austin-Round Rock, TX)
Charlotte Regional Business Alliance (Charlotte-Concord Gastonia, NC)
Commerce Lexington, Inc. (Lexington-Fayette KY) 
Dallas Regional Chamber // Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX)   
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI)
EDGE (Economic Development Growth Engine) // Greater Memphis
Chamber (Memphis, TN-MS-AR)
Greater Chattanooga Economic Partnership (Chattanooga, TN-GA)
Greater Des Moines Partnership (Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA)
Greater Houston Partnership (Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX)
Greater Phoenix Economic Council (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ)   
Huntsville/Madison County Chamber (Huntsville, AL)
Indy Chamber (Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN)
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton,
PA-NJ)   
Louisville Forward // Greater Louisville, Inc. (Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN)
Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce (Montgomery, AL)
One Columbus (Columbus, OH)     
REDI Cincinnati // Northern Kentucky Tri•ED   (Cincinnati, OH)
Research Triangle Regional Partnership (Durham-Chapel Hill, NC)                    
Savannah Economic Development Authority (Savannah, GA)                                         
World Business Chicago (Chicago-Naperville, Elgin, IL-IN-WI)

In 2019 Montgomery saw record growth and reported $1,013,568,764 in industrial capital investments, the second largest in Montgomery County’s history, surpassed only by the 2002 original Hyundai announcement. These announced investments by 32 companies will lead to the creation of 1,222 new jobs and have helped secure 7,784 existing local jobs. 

“This award recognizes top-notch economic development organizations across the nation that excel in the pursuit of improving the quality of life in their communities,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “This is a well-deserved honor for Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, which has made many significant contributions to the region.”

“We are proud to be honored by this publication that looked at organizations like ours across the country and recognized our success,” says Montgomery Chamber Chairman Arthur Ducote. “In Montgomery, we have a long history of trusted public private partnership between the City, County and local business leadership, and we are honored to accept this award on their behalf.”

“The City of Montgomery is pleased to celebrate the Montgomery Area Chamber for this much deserved award,” said Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed. “This recognition affirms we are making great strides in accomplishing our goals of improving the economic well-being of the business community and enhancing the quality of life in the River Region. The creation and preservation of jobs is our top priority and we are proud of the success we have had in recent years.”

“Our economic development team excels in the art of collaboration and partnership through a vision that has been designed and executed by the Chamber, local governments and our business community,” said Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean. “Montgomery County is proud to be a part of this partnership.”

Tourism is fueling Montgomery’s economic growth as well. As part of a full spectrum economic development organization, the Montgomery Chamber’s Convention & Visitor Bureau also saw record-breaking tourism growth for 2019 topping the billion-dollar mark for the first time with $1.025 billion in total travel-related expenditures, according to a report conducted by the Alabama Tourism Department. This figure represents a 5.6 percent increase in traveler spending on hotels, restaurants, shopping and transportation. Visitors were also responsible for 14,428 new jobs in the hospitality industry in the county. Montgomery is one of the leading major metros in Alabama that accounted for a 75 percent increase in the state’s travel-generated employment in 2019.

For more information about growing a business in Montgomery, visit www.montgomerychamber.com.

###
ABOUT THE MONTGOMERY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
With a mission to create jobs and a better quality of life in Montgomery and the River Region, the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce is a full spectrum economic development corporation representing 1,700 organizations and business and more than 80,000 employees throughout Montgomery and the River Region. The Montgomery Chamber is an innovative, consolidated organization that addresses destination tourism, economic development, business development, workforce development, and community strategies under one umbrella, linking the public and private sector around a shared vision and providing tremendous value to its investors.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Meg Lewis
Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce
mlewis@montgomerychamber.com (334) 261-1104