The June Board of Directors meeting was “staged” at our world-class Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. Michael Fresher, President & CEO of the Tobin Center, welcomed our Board members and pointed out that our board was gathered on the same stage that Sir Paul McCartney performed on in 2014. Fresher highlighted the Tobin Center’s many accolades, including being ranked number one in Texas and number four world-wide for theaters under 2,000 capacity according to Pollstar’s 2017 Year End Rankings. He also shared the Tobin’s commitment to providing the opportunity for our school children to experience and engage in performing arts through its Generation Next education initiative.
Our Chairman Shaun Kennedy reported updates on his signature initiative for 2018: Project Ability, an effort to coalesce the business community around employing individuals with special needs. The project will host a summit in late September. Chairman Kennedy also spoke of his overarching theme for the year, “Transformational Collaboration,” reaching a new level of collaboration with the top City and County leaders, as well as the leadership of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation and both the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, all agreeing to a more frequent meeting schedule to discuss and address the challenges facing our community.
Chamber President Richard Perez addressed the critical efforts of Secure San Antonio’s Future in raising awareness to defeat the upcoming charter amendments put forth by the Fire Union’s Petition Campaign. Perez reviewed the facts of the three propositions and the detrimental effects on our City government should they pass. San Antonio’s economic stability will undoubtedly be threatened by the level of uncertainty the amendments would create. Simply put, every decision the City Council makes can be overturned, unilateral binding arbitration will rule the day, and our Council’s hands would be tied in hiring and retaining a high-performing City Manager. Should the three vindictive initiatives pass, San Antonio will overnight become a high-risk community with little hope of attracting investment and sustaining our incredible economic momentum. Click here for more information.
Lori Stinson, VP of Military Affairs and Leadership, reported on the Chamber’s upcoming signature Celebrate America’s Military events scheduled for November. CAM is the longest and most important series of events that honors those men and women, past and present, who have worn the cloth of our Nation. Please click for additional details on this unique series of event.
Incoming Board Chair Paula Gold-Williams, President and CEO of CPS Energy, shared the great efforts undertaken by the utility company to ensure San Antonio’s connectivity through its Flexible Path plan. Gold-Williams commented on CPS’ robust community input structure, commitment to investing in proven technologies, and attention to balancing affordability and reliability. She called on the Board to engage in the conversation at all levels with the ultimate goal of keeping us all connected, literally and figuratively.
The meeting concluded with COO of Blood Operations and Executive Director of the Blood & Tissue Center Foundation, Elizabeth Waltman, presenting on the B2B Blood Drive Challenge. The goal of the campaign is to engage local companies and organizations to get 20% of their employee/community base to donate blood from now through Labor Day. For more information, please see our article or visit: www.b2bchallenge.org.
