The Austin Chamber of Commerce today announced that Southern Business & Development magazine named Gary Farmer to its annual “Ten People Who Made A Difference” list. Each year, the magazine recognizes a selected group of Southern business leaders for their contributions to successful economic development in the South over the course of the calendar year.

Mr. Farmer, [51], who is president of Austin-headquartered Heritage Title Company and Heritage Exchange Corp. of Texas, has an impressive track record of successful economic development in the Greater Austin area. He has been an active recruiter to Austin and has helped raise millions of dollars over the years to support economic and education efforts in the area.

Currently, Mr. Farmer serves as the Chairman of the Greater Austin Economic Development Corporation, Chairman of Opportunity Austin 2.0, and Vice-Chairman of Economic Development for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Farmer was instrumental in the success of the original Opportunity Austin campaign, which created more than 121,000 jobs and $5.6 billion of new wages in the past five years.

"Austin and Central Texas is fortunate to have such a community minded volunteer like Gary Farmer. Literally, thousands and thousands of Central Texans have good jobs because of Gary's work in raising millions of dollars for attracting and growing new jobs in the Austin area," said Mike Rollins, President of the Austin Chamber of Commerce. "This national recognition bestowed on Gary is only a token of the thank you we all owe him."

Mr. Farmer has previously been honored for his business success. Most recently, in 2006, the Austin Chamber of Commerce named him “Austinite of the Year.” In the same year, The Real Estate Council named its highest award as “The Gary S. Farmer Commendation of Excellence Award.” Other awards include the W. Neal Kocurek Real Estate Lifetime Achievement Award by the Austin Business Journal, the Sam Walton Business Leader Award by the Austin Chamber, and the Outstanding Young Title Person Award by the Texas Land Title Association.

Gary also serves on the Advisory Board of Directors at JPMorgan Chase Bank, Board of Children's Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas, Executive Board of The Real Estate Council of Austin, Executive Board of the Trust for Public Lands, Executive Board of Capital Area Transportation Coalition, Board of Governors of Austin Community Foundation, Chairman of The Austin Children's Shelter Capital Campaign, Executive Board of Boy Scouts of America, Capital Area Council.

About Southern Business & Development
Southern Business & Development is a quarterly magazine based out of Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1992 and edited for manufacturing and selected service company executives, the magazine showcases the myriad of business opportunities in the southern region of the United States and provides extensive coverage of corporate relocation and expansion opportunities.

Southern Business & Development’s website, sb-d.com, serves as a guide to corporate relocation and expansion opportunities in the south. Selected states are profiled in each edition, with all Southern states featured at least once a year. Editions address economic trends, developments and concerns of the area being profiled.

About the Austin Chamber of Commerce
The Austin Chamber of Commerce is a private, non-profit, membership-driven organization comprised of 2,500 business enterprises, civic organizations, education institutions and individuals. Its mission is to provide leadership that will help create regional economic prosperity and success for its members in Central Texas.