ATLANTA — The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has been designated one of the top 10 economic development organizations in the nation, according to Site Selection magazine.

The magazine, which is read by more than 44,000 executives, recently released its 2006 rankings.

 “The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce is focused on jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Kessel Stelling, president and CEO of Bank of North Georgia and the chair of the Chamber's economic development committee. “For six years in a row, Atlanta has ranked third in the nation among cities with the most Fortune 500 headquarters. Metro Atlanta has what companies want, and the Chamber continues to recruit new companies and more jobs to the area, and build on our economic development success.”

In the last 20 years alone, the population has doubled and Atlanta has become one of the top job producers in the nation. In 2006, metro Atlanta created more than 60,000 jobs and in 2005 created 70,000 new jobs, making metro Atlanta No. 2 in the country for job creation.

Economic development groups were ranked according to four objective categories: new jobs, new jobs per 10,000 residents, new investment amount and new investment per 10,000 residents. They were also reviewed on innovation, leadership and customer service.

“As we considered the nominations for the Top Development Groups this year, it became clear that the most competitive organizations shared several characteristics,” said Ron Starner, director of publications and general manager of Site Selection publisher Conway Data. “They provide market access to expanding companies, strong logistics support networks, highly qualified and abundant labor pools, competitive business costs and good old-fashioned ingenuity to get deals done."

The Chamber's areas of economic development focus include:

• corporate headquarters attraction: Positioning metro Atlanta as a headquarters office center.
• marketing and business recruitment: Proactively marketing metro Atlanta as a business location, attracting companies and creating quality jobs.
• logistics industry cluster development: Positioning metro Atlanta as a global logistics center of innovation and growing and attracting logistics companies and jobs.
• technology industry cluster development: Shaping Atlanta as a center of technology and innovation by attracting and growing companies in the Information Technology, software, biotech and telecom industries.
• global commerce development: Developing metro Atlanta as an international business center and attracting foreign direct investment, companies and jobs – while assisting metro Atlanta companies who do business abroad.

Following are Site Selection's Top Economic Development Groups of 2006:

(in alphabetical order)
Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Dallas, Texas
Greater Louisville Inc., Louisville, Ky.
Greater Washington Initiative, Washington, D.C.
Indy Partnership, Indianapolis, Ind.
McAllen Economic Development Corp., McAllen, Texas
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta , Ga.
Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corp. and Greater Statesville Development Corp., Iredell County, N.C.
Piedmont Triad Partnership, Greensboro, N.C.
St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, St. Louis , Mo.
World Business Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The entire Top Groups and Top Deals articles appear in the May 2007 edition of Site Selection and at www.sitenet.com .

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The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce – with our 4,000 member companies that collectively employ more than 700,000 workers – is a catalyst for a vibrant metro region. Over the last 140 years, the Chamber has been bringing the region’s leaders together to tackle the issues that matter most to the business community: quality jobs and quality of life.

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