About The Economic Development Council

The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Council supports the growth and success of San Antonio's six major industries: Aerospace, Information Technology, Health Care/Bioscience, Manufacturing, Military, and Hospitality/Tourism.  The support The Chamber provides includes: 

• Coordinating with industry leaders to provide economic impact studies, which chart the growth of each sector. 
• Building support for legislative actions at the local, state, and federal levels that benefit San Antonio's targeted industries.
• Working with local resources and services to improve business retention and expansion in each sector. 
• Coordinating with universities, training programs and other services to ensure a skilled workforce to accommodate San Antonio's employer needs for the future. 
• Interfacing with the business community and the military to strengthen relationships and to ensure the military organizations in our area have the resources they need to accomplish their respective missions.

Economic Development Council Steering Committee - Chaired by: Mark Metcalfe (Wachovia Bank):  The steering committee is responsible for issues affecting the major industries of San Antonio (Aerospace, Healthcare/Bioscience, Information Technology, Military, and Tourism) and oversees the other Economic Development committees and recommends action to The Chamber's Executive Committee. 

The Economic Development Council also focuses on researching best practices in business retention and expansion programs, and working with the industries to implement these processes.

The Council works with other economic entities to bring new companies to San Antonio, and to retain and grow existing companies.

Aerospace Committee - Jason Coles (Port San Antonio): Responsible for issues and activities pertaining to the local aerospace industry located primarily at Kelly USA, San Antonio International Airport and Stinson Municipal Airport. A large component of their activities also involves the production of the Aerospace Industry Economic Impact Study and support for the Alamo Area Aerospace Academy. 

Health Care and Biosciences Committee – York Duncan (Texas Research and Technology Foundation): Responsible for bringing together all components of the Health care and Bioscience industry, and for advocating the needs of the industry as a whole. The committee has responsibility for funding and producing the annual Health Care/Bioscience Economic Impact Study.

Information Technology Committee - Greg Lawler (SWBC): The committee works to improve the local technology industry by working to find additional funding from the state and federal government for programs such as Homeland Security and the Computer Information Assurance and Security (CIAS) program at UTSA, and works to inform the community of the contributions the Information Technology Industry has made through the production of the Information Technology Industry Economic Impact Study. A major focus for 2007 was to serve as a forum for communicating employer training needs to the educational and training entities. 

Military Affairs Committee - Greg Oveland (Eisenhower Bank):  Responsible for maintaining a strong relationship with local military representatives and working to ensure the military receives the support it needs from the local business community. This goal is accomplished through several task forces and adjunct committees including: the Military Affairs Special Events Committee, the Celebrate America's Military Committee, and the Military Liaison Task Force.

Economic Analysis Panel - Travis Tullos (Texas Perspectives, Inc.):  Members of this panel represent various components of the San Antonio economy such as real estate, housing, the airport, employment, etc. The panel prepares a quarterly report that charts the growth of the sector on a year-to-year basis. A press conference is scheduled at the end of each quarter to report on the overall health of the local economy. 

For information on getting involved in one of the industry committees, contact the staff at (210) 229-2163.

Or Email the Economic Development staff here.

View The Chamber's Economic Reports here.

Find out more about CAM here.

View a video about the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)

View the Deptartment of Defense Economic Impact Study here.

View information about fostering a military working dog.

View "Operation Homecooking" thank you letter.