Page 6 - 2015 DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Annual Report

In my rst year as Chamber president, little gave me greater pleasure than to have
convened public and private partnerships to move DeKalb forward.

The mission of DeKalb Chamber is to focus on the business community by engaging,
organizing, and advocating in our four core competencies: Education and Workforce,
Public Policy, Economic Development, and Membership Services. In 2015, our success was
largely due to strong partnerships.

As a premier partner with Decide DeKalb Development Authority, we solidied this
partnership by naming the Chamber’s Economic Development Committee as the
Authority’s Business Alliance Council. The Council is responsible for reviewing and
approving all development projects in the amount of $75 million or more.

Just days after the 2015 Georgia General Assembly ended, we partnered with the Georgia
Chamber to host their president and CEO, Chris Clark. He shared updates, results and
impacts of the 2015 legislative session.

In other collaborations the Chamber partnered with DeKalb County Schools to host the
ocial Welcome Reception of Dr. R. Stephen Green, our new school Superintendent. In
addition, we hosted Dr. Green at our quarterly General Membership Meeting and
Luncheon to share his strategy on improving our school system.

This year, the Chamber hosted its inaugural Women In leadership Lunch led by our anity
group Women Executive Leaders of DeKalb (WELD). With more than 100 women and men
in attendance, we addressed how to lead multicultural and multigenerational
organizations. Executive women from AT&T, Georgia Institute of Technology, Telemundo
and the Atlanta Hawks, all shared their advice on how to lead and be successful in an ever
evolving workforce.

Despite one of the worst economic setbacks during the last decade, a recovering economy
spurred global growth. The DeKalb Chamber led the way in helping shape the
conversation on how best to meet the needs and demands of local, regional and state
business. In a proactive approach to further those conversations the Chamber hosted
Dennis Lockhart, president and CEO, of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta who provided
an economic outlook for 2016.

As I look back over 2015, it was not a year without challenges. There were many successes
and opportunities to improve along with but it was an opportunity to renew our commit-
ment to look at DeKalb County and imagine what’s possible. Katerina

Cheers to our partners and stakeholders for their willingness to collaborate. Let’s do it
again in 2016! T AYL OR
P r esiden t & CEO 3