Wilmington Chamber of Commerce

This week, we sat down with two of our Executive Committee members, Jim Hundley (Thomas Construction) and Lisa Leath (Vantaca/Leath HR), to chat about the benefits of joining the chamber. Tune in to learn about all things from networking and leadership development to our Chairman's Club.

Frankie Roberts is a long time Leadership Wilmington Alumni and Executive Director of LINC, Inc, a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate and motivate youth to make positive life choices while empowering men and women returning from incarceration to be productive members of our community. Frankie talks about how even as a native Wilmintonian, he learned new things throughout his experience in Leadership Wilmington and continues to build upon relationships he made with his fellow classmates several years ago.   Frankie Roberts was also the recipient of the Karl Davis Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award this year!

This week, the ladies at the Wilmington Chamber sat down to discuss their own professional development and how they recharge by surrounding themselves with other chamber industry professionals. Learn a little bit about "R&D" and what the chamber is doing to better serve its members. 

The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce's Career and Leadership Development Academy is a collaboration with New Hanover County Schools to provide middle school students an opportunity to acquire career, leadership, and education pathway knowledge throughout the eight-month program.  This week we sat down with Dr. Patrice Faison, Chief Academic Officer at New Hanover County Schools, and Demarcus Nixon, Career & Technical Education Coordinator/Work-based Learning Coordinator at New Hanover County Schools, to discuss what the CLDA is and the impact it will have on the 43 7th grade students participating. 

Join us for a three-part conversation about New Hanover County's latest economic mobility report, the Wilmington region's assets driving economic growth, and the primary target industries in southeastern North Carolina. Our guests in this series include New Hanover County's Chief Strategy Officer, Jennifer Rigby, President at Greenfield Development, Robin Spinks, and the Wilmington Chamber's VP of Small Business Retention & Expansion, Josh Hallingse, and the chamber's president & CEO, Natalie English.

Join us for a three-part conversation about New Hanover County's latest economic mobility report, the Wilmington region's assets driving economic growth, and the primary target industries in southeastern North Carolina. Our guests in this series include New Hanover County's Chief Strategy Officer, Jennifer Rigby, President at Greenfield Development, Robin Spinks, and the Wilmington Chamber's VP of Small Business Retention & Expansion, Josh Hallingse, and the chamber's president & CEO, Natalie English.

Join us for a three-part conversation about New Hanover County's latest economic mobility report, the Wilmington region's assets driving economic growth, and the primary target industries in southeastern North Carolina. Our guests in this series include New Hanover County's Chief Strategy Officer, Jennifer Rigby, President at Greenfield Development, Robin Spinks, and the Wilmington Chamber's VP of Small Business Retention & Expansion, Josh Hallingse, and the chamber's president & CEO, Natalie English.

The vision of the Latin American Business Council is to promote accessibility for all the established Latino Businesses in our region, of all the available economic and public policy opportunities that could foster, improve and boost our community. Over the past two years, the LABC has grown to fruition and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce is excited to continue building on this council. Tune in to learn more about the LABC and the anniversary party they have planned in May.

Leadership Wilmington is a program under the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce to educate, challenge, and motivate leaders and future leaders to utilize their leadership skills to work for the betterment of our community. This week we sat down with Rob High, Associate Broker for Cape Fear Commercial, to talk about all things Leadership Wilmington – how he's investing in himself through the program, what he's learning, and what his favorite sessions have been.

In February, the Wilmington Chamber's Public Policy Committee passed a resolution urging consideration of all possible options to fund a replacement for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. Spend a few minutes with Natalie English, Neal Andrew, Josh Hallingse & Megan Mullins to learn more about how we got here and what we do next to replace that bridge.

In January, the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors passed a resolution in support of efforts to explore offshore wind energy off the coast of southeastern North Carolina. Tune in to learn more about the opportunities this emerging industry presents (HINT: JOBS) and what challenges remain.

As VP of Small Business Development and Business Retention, Josh Hallingse will be overseeing the attraction, retention, and expansion of small businesses in our community alongside our economic development partners focused on entrepreneurial development and recruitment.  Prior to joining the Wilmington Chamber, Hallingse served as the Executive Director for the Transylvania Economic Alliance, where he led the Alliance's economic development program since 2015. Recent wins include a major expansion of Raybow USA, a $15.8M/74 job biotech project, development, and several small business expansions/relocations. Hallingse was also part of the team to develop the Sylvan Valley Industrial Center, the community's first shell building, which is now home to outdoor gear builder SylvanSport and CanArchy Craft Brewing Collective.

Neal Andrew is a native Wilmingtonian and the current president of Andrew Consulting Engineers. Andrew Consulting Engineers has been a member of the Wilmington Chamber since 2004, and Neal has served on the board of directors since 2016. Neal's work as a board member has propelled our chamber to become more effective and efficient. He brings extensive knowledge of our community and coastal issues and has become a critical asset to our advocacy efforts. In 2021, he also contributed the most new member leads as a board member, earning himself the coveted New Member Award Trophy.

From the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge to off-shore wind, public transit to affordable housing. The girls dig deep into the Chamber plans for 2022.

Listen as the myths about our Wilmington Chamber of Commerce get busted and the girls get excited about all the new and exciting things planned!