Annual Meeting
This event celebrates our successes of the past year, looks ahead to the future, honors the Austinites of the Year and recognizes the change of leadership at the Board of Directors. The Chamber also recognizes the Volunteers of the Year in areas such as Communications, Education, Government Relations, Regional Infrastructure, Economic Development, Communications, the Ambassador Program, and Small Business.
The Austin Chamber of Commerce honored four leaders of South by Southwest (SXSW) as the 2011 Austinites of the Year. View the video here.
The Austinites are Hugh Forrest, Director of SXSW Interactive and founders of the original SXSW conference: Nick Barbaro, publisher and co-founder of the Austin Chronicle; Louis Black, editor of the Austin Chronicle; and Roland Swenson, current managing director of SXSW. For complete information on these honorees please read the press release.
2012 Austinite of the Year Awards - SXSW Founders from Austin Chamber on Vimeo.
2011 Volunteers of the Year
Regional Infrastructure and Development
Joe Cantalupo, area manager at Parsons Brinckerhoff, was a critical member of the Chamber’s transportation leadership in 2011. He served on the Chamber's 2011 Transportation Executive Committee as the Federal Transportation Policy Chair and chaired the Federal Transportation Agenda Task Force. He also guided the Chamber's efforts in mapping regional employee origin and destination to better understand Central Texas commuter trend data.
Government Relations
David Reiter, general counsel at Luminex Corporation, served as the 2011 Austin Chamber Chair of Federal Issues Committee. He led the volunteer organization to develop the annual agenda on priority issue areas including innovation, clean energy, and health care that served as the basis for advocacy efforts for the delegation visit to Washington, D.C.
Marketing/Communications
Tracey Nelson, principal and cofounder of Maven Marketing Solutions, volunteered her time and expertise on the Council for Small Business Marketing. She was instrumental in helping with the Chamber's branding and marketplace reviews.
Education & Talent Development
Mark Curry, community bank president at Wells Fargo, served as the Chamber's representative and chair of the Austin Partners in Education Board of Directors since 2010. Curry led the change in APIE's strategic direction, improved its internal processes and controls, and focused APIE on strategies to build a college and career-ready workforce.
Small Business
Ray Wolf, CEO and president of Green Integrated Services, led the Chamber's CEO Peer Advisory Program by pushing for promotional strategy, organizing a strong steering committee, and leading the group through its early existence. His persistence and strategic planning skills have been instrumental in the Chamber's 2011 small business development programming.
Membership
Michael Laing, assistant vice president of business development with Wells Fargo, is the 2012 chair of the membership ambassador program. He helps welcome first-year members, helping connect them with Chamber programs that suit their needs. Michael's commitment is exhibited in his having been named the "Ambassador of the Month" for seven out of 12 months in 2011.
Global Technology Strategies
John Price, CEO of Vast.com, is the Entrepreneurial Chair. He previously spent 11 years as vice president of marketing and business development at Trilogy Inc. and has heavily engaged the entrepreneurial community in the Startup America Partnership and the South by Southwest 2012 initiatives.
Economic Development
Rob Hutton of Lennar Corporation volunteered his time by participating in three of the Chamber's major marketing trips, and chaired the Eighth Annual Showcase Austin event.
The Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Programs provides incentives for film, animation, television, video games, and post-production. Qualifying projects can receive rebates on qualifying Texas production expenses, up to 29% for film and 7.5% for video game development.
