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With a tremendous growth trajectory over the last three decades, Chile is now number 17 in the world for food exports. They are rising so swiftly, they’re expected to be among the top ten exporters by 2014. Chilean produce broke the grip of ‘Winter,’ making fruit available to the United States all year-round, while creating thousands of jobs from the Delaware Valley all the way to Santiago. The president of the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce, Robert Palaima, was the evening’s master of ceremonies and noted the Chamber has been a key factor in bolstering this astounding bilateral trade. In fact since 1989, the total value of Chilean imports coming through the Delaware River ports rose from $192, 020, 000 million to $966,330,000 million dollars.

A stunning success.  

Delaware Governor Jack Markell actually lived in Chile and spoke of the extraordinary growth and charm of the country: “Chile is truly one of the greatest countries in the world. I have a particular affection for Chile. I lived there in 1983-84. I was working for an American bank that had an office there. I lived and worked in Santiago but got to travel mainly in the south which is absolutely spectacular. I hear the north is also and look forward to visiting there. Chile is a beautiful country, the people are incredible, the progress that the economy has made over the last 30 years is phenomenal. And to visit as Alan Levin, Delaware’s Economic Development Director, Gene Bailey and Tom Keefer, from the Port and Ben Leavenworth, the Honorary Consul, we went back in August.  We went to sign an extension of an agreement between the Port of Wilmington and many of the fruit exporters and growers in Chile.”       

In her introduction of Ambassador Bulnes, Anne Bookout, Vice President and General Counsel of Royal Fumigation told the gathering of His Excellency’s time spent in the United States. “He has an LL.M from Harvard Law School, was a Fulbright Scholar, and also served Chile as both Minister of Justice and again, as Minister of Education.”

Ambassador Bulnes only just arrived in the States in the last couple of weeks, but made sure the event was one of his first official stops. He talked about why the bonds between Chile and the US are so strong and complimented the Chilean & American Chamber, “I want to thank the Chamber, it is the largest Chilean-American Chamber we have and is the most active and a key player in promoting the relationship between our two countries. . .The trade balance between the Delaware Valley region is approximately one billion dollars and that’s a huge amount for Chilean standards. We are happy to supply fruits during your winter season and take advantage of the ‘reverse’ growing season and happy to sustain two thousand direct jobs and ten thousand in-direct jobs in your region. And thanks to your efficiency, capabilities and commitment to Chilean exports, you are sustaining one hundred thousand jobs in Chile.”

Fresh off the train from the nation’s capital, Delaware’s United States Senator Tom Carper said, “Our relationship with Chile has born great fruit, for Chile and not just for those of us in Delaware Valley Region.  We’re happy that Chile is our valued customer and we’re happy to be your servant. And so glad to see all of you here tonight. As a recovering governor, I love economic development and job creation. It’s one of my most favorite things in the world.”

The Chamber’s 2012 Visionary Award went to Rene Merino, the managing director and owner of the Casa Tamaya Winery. Together, ‘The Wines of Chile’ and Casa Tamaya decanted an impressive array of Chile’s finest wines throughout the evening. While accepting the award, Merino noted, “We have people thinking ‘premium’ now, when they think of Chilean wines. We believe we have the best geography, the best climate, conditions, the best of everything to produce the finest wines in the world. We have also proven it many times in blind taste-tests and competitions. We’ve been able to beat some of the most expensive wines in the world many, many times. And we always over-deliver. That’s what Chile’s all about. Governor Markell and I were talking about Tamaya Winery and I’ve asked him to visit us in the north. We are right at the entrance of the desert and the first time my wife and I went – there was nothing there. It was just barren land. She said, ‘you’re absolutely crazy, nothing’s going to grow here.’ And today we have an amazing winery making wines that rival the world’s finest in competitions all over the world.”

The outstanding imported wines were part of an exquisite dinner made of foods imported from Chile. In addition to the remarkable Tamaya Cabernet Sauvignon and others, there was also delicious AquaChile Verlasso salmon, farm raised in Chile. It was absolutely delightful and is the result of a joint research and development effort between the Du Pont Company of the United States and the Republic of Chile.

Ricardo Maldonado, the Executive Director of the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce said, “It is fitting that the evening’s award is called ‘Visionary’ because in fact, everyone at the dinner has that characteristic in common. All of the national and international companies represented, the workers and staff of the Ports of the Delaware River, the Chilean and American Chamber of Commerce and the government officials of Chile and the United States are all participating in a real-life dream-come-true.”  A remarkable story of vision, dedication, partnership and amazing progress.

View pictures from the event

Join the region’s elite business community for a night of honors, celebration, and networking.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

5:00 – Finalists and Sponsor VIP Reception
5:30 – Grand Cocktail Reception
7:00 – Awards Ceremony and Dinner
9:00 – Dessert Reception and Extending the Network

Reserve your table for the 19th Annual Enterprise Awards gala on Thursday, May 3, 2012, at the Hilton Philadelphia City Line.

“We are delighted to receive Site Selection Magazine’s designation as one of the Country’s top economic development groups,” said Tom Morr, President & CEO of Select Greater Philadelphia.

“Site Selection Magazine covers the economic growth programs across the nation so this recognition from the publication is very meaningful.”

“We are particularly pleased that this award validates the Greater Philadelphia business community’s investment in Select.” Morr added, “We are grateful to these investors who created Select Greater Philadelphia. It’s their dedication and commitment that make our work possible.”

Local economic development groups were ranked according to four objective categories: new jobs, new jobs per 10,000 residents, new investment amount and new investment per 10,000 residents. They were then judged on more subjective attributes, among them innovation, leadership and customer service.

“This recognition follows the successful hosting last fall by Select Greater Philadelphia of the best-attended Industrial Asset Management Council event ever held,” said Morr. “Thanks to everyone’s hard work, leadership and support, Greater Philadelphia’s economic development marketing effort is gaining traction and achieving results.”

Select has worked with businesses, foundations, individuals and government partners to help locate 77 companies to the region with 3,329 direct jobs forecasted by 2014. 21% of these jobs are in the Information and Communications Technology sector and 17% are in Life Sciences. The direct jobs attracted by Select have an average salary of $83,000. In addition, collaborative business attraction and regional marketing efforts have resulted in a $637M annual direct increase in the area’s Gross Regional Product.

Greater Philadelphia has a labor force with an unusually high level of education and training. In a region where over 22% of entry-level jobs required a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2010, Greater Philadelphia has the talent today’s businesses need -– with over 100 institutions of higher learning that provide the right workers for industries from pharmaceutical R&D to advanced manufacturing. Approximately 33% of residents 25 years and older in 2010 had a Bachelor’s degree or higher well above the US figure of 28%.

About Select Greater Philadelphia

Select Greater Philadelphia (Select) is an economic development marketing organization dedicated to attracting companies to the Greater Philadelphia region. Select assists companies interested in the vicinity by providing detailed information about the 11-county area and a one-stop connection to numerous resources that help companies make informed decisions about locating to the region. The Greater Philadelphia region encompasses northern Delaware, southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania. Select is a private, non-profit organization and an affiliate of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit www.selectgreaterphiladelphia.com or call 215-790-3777.

For more information on GPCC Public policy visit relayphilly.com. To view the Chamber’s testimony to City Council, please visit http://news.gpcc.com/category/testimony-correspondence/

The CEO Council recognizes the importance of a vibrant culture of entrepreneurship and robust commercialization infrastructure to Greater Philadelphia’s vitality and future competitiveness.  We know that new business creation is the primary driver of job growth, with nearly all net job creation in the United States since 1980 occurring in firms less than five years old.  The CEO Council is dedicated to positioning the Greater Philadelphia region as a place where entrepreneurs can successfully create and grow businesses to scale.  Converting our region’s innovation capacity into commercial activity and job growth is key to our future success, and the JOBS Act removes some of the regulatory obstacles that hindered past progress.

Perhaps the best part of the event was the Q&A session with Phillies stars Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, Jim Thome and Jonathan Papelbon. Scott Palmer from the Phillies led an interactive session that featured questions from the audience. The players were asked personal questions and the answers were candid and hilarious.

What are Howard’s thoughts on his injury rehab? How does Thome feel coming back to the team he starred for years ago? Did you know Papelbon, the new Phillies closer, has an alter ego? And that he loves to make bets with his teammates to earn extra cash? Why does Cliff Lee love Philadelphia?

Find out all the answers and more in the video below.

Maintaining and enhancing our transportation infrastructure is central to both the competitiveness of our region and our nation, as such the development of a multi-year Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill is a top priority of the CEO Council for Growth. As the legislation continues to be reviewed, the CEO Council for Growth will continue to advocate for principles we believe will benefit transportation infrastructure in the Greater Philadelphia region, including enhancing the flexibility of state and multi-state agencies to develop innovative financing and revenue streams devoted to transportation projects, including but not limited to public private partnerships and tolling.

“We are very satisfied with the results of the program thus far,” states Pennsylvania Drug Card Program Director, Kerry Shaw. “We attribute much of our success to the support of organizations such as Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants, Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and many others. This program only works if people know about it and that is why we have been very proactive in securing support from organizations that can help us create awareness for this statewide prescription assistance program.”

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Pennsylvania Drug Card in order to create awareness and help every Pennsylvania resident obtain a discount drug card. Together, Pennsylvania Drug Card and The Greater Philadelphia Chamber are currently educating all clinics, hospitals, county health departments and urgent care clinics throughout the State about the program.

Every Pennsylvanian is eligible to participate in the Pennsylvania Drug Card program; there are no restrictions to membership and no applications to fill out. The card is accepted at over 56,000 regional and national pharmacies. Residents can pick up a free card at the Chamber office or download a card, search drug pricing and locate participating pharmacies by visiting www.PADrugCard.com.

This free prescription card is available online for everyone in Pennsylvania by simply visiting www.PADrugCard.com and printing a card. Residents with no internet access can visit any Target, Giant Eagle, Pathmark, Kmart, Acme Sav-on, Weis or Superfresh pharmacy location and ask the pharmacist to process their prescription through the Pennsylvania Drug Card.

For more information, press only:
Kerry Shaw
Program Director
800-901-2185
kshaw@padrugcard.com