by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
For the past 26 years, area business and civic leaders have visited a different U.S. city as part of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual Leadership Trip.
This year, things changed. Instead of a week long trip to San Francisco or San Antonio or San Diego, the Chamber trip is a three-part affair that began with a day long economic seminar at the Osborn Center in mid-September followed by a three-day trip to Charleston, S.C. in October.
In March, 40 people ranging from Mayor John Peyton and his wife Kathryn to Firehouse Subs Founder Robin Sorensen will travel to China for nine days. While there, the group will visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, all in an attempt to establish and reinforce economic development ties with a country of 1.3 billion people
“After 26 years examining the best practices of cities throughout the United States, we’re looking beyond our borders to help local business compete in a global economy,” says the Chamber’s Web site about the trip that starts March 7 and ends March 16. “With the impending arrival of Mitsui OSK Lines (at the port) opening a direct trade route to Asia, and the potential impact on our infrastructure and logistics operations, China is a natural choice for our first international leadership opportunity.”
Those “traveling to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, (will) take a focused look at lessons in economic development, while also learning from their superior education system, world-renowned advances in medicine and the life sciences industry, and their cultural emphasis on entrepreneurialism and human capital.”
One of those is Colliers Dickinson President Walter Dickinson, who will be accompanied by three other staffers.
“This is my 11th Leadership trip and it’s a good trip,” said Dickinson. “We do a huge amount of industrial work. In fact, we just closed on the Bacardi land tract.”
One of the employees Dickinson is taking is sales agent Frank Ting, who Dickinson says speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. Dickinson, who went to China 50 years ago when he was in the Navy, said he hopes he and Ting will be able to establish new relationships that could eventually become business partnerships.
“We are going over there in hopes that we might meet some business owners who want to come to Jacksonville,” he said.
Another traveler with economic development in mind is Jacksonville Aviation Authority Director of External Affairs Michael Stewart. He said the Jacksonville Port Authority’s recent deals with two Asian shipping lines may prove beneficial to the Aviation Authority in both the near and distant future.
Stewart said as the Port Authority finishes the Mitsui and Hanjin terminals, the Aviation Authority believes there will become a need for rapid air transit service to China and other Far East nations.
“Large shipping companies will invariably have something that was left off a ship or needs to get there in a hurry,” said Stewart, adding that Cecil Field would be the logical place to begin some sort of high-speed air cargo service to countries such as China, Japan and South Korea.
“Hanjin and Mitsui are just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “You can’t ignore a nation with 1.3 billion people. Air cargo to China is probably 10 to 15 years down the road, but you have start the groundwork now.
“Commercial flights to China are probably 50 to 100 years away.”
Stewart said he has not determined a specific agenda for the China trip yet. He said the Craig Airport runway extension project has been the top priority the past few months.
“It comes to a (City Council) vote Jan. 8. After that, I will focus on China,” said Stewart.
Sorensen and his brother Chris started Firehouse Subs 13 years ago. Today, there are 310 stores across the United States. While the first international Firehouse doesn’t exist yet, Sorensen said that issue was broached several years ago through the patent of international Firehouse trademarks.
“We bought trademarks in China, the European Union, Mexico, Australia and others a long time ago,” he said. “At some point — and clearly there is no way we are looking overseas now — we will go over there.
“It’s early, but this is a unique opportunity to learn and understand how the Chinese do business. If I went by myself, I could not get the same education. This is simply groundwork for the future.”
China trip facts
Who’s going?
The slate of those going to China includes several elected officials, a handful from the Chamber and several area business people. The following is a complete list:
Raul Alfonso — Jacksonville Port Authority; Ron and Hilah Autrey — Miller Electric; Bob Baldwin — the Chamber; Ron Barton, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission; Charles Berman — Berman Bros, Inc.; Ed Burr and Billie Jo Burr; Walter Dickinson — Colliers Dickinson; Leila Duncan — the Chamber.
Eloise Feather — Colliers Dickinson; City Council member Art Graham; Sandy Harbison — Travel Authority; Mike Hightower — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida; City Council member Stephen Joost; Alyson Lee — Jacksonville University; Wally Lee — Chamber president; Wei-Tieng Li and Robin Li — Pappas, Metcalf, Jenks & Miller; James Love and Robin Love — State Farm Insurance; Jerry Mallot — executive vice president, economic development of Cornerstone; Suzanne Montgomery — Montgomery, Copley & Associates; Bandele Onasanya — ONAS Corporation; Mayor John Peyton and Kathryn Peyton; Guy Preston — Colliers Dickinson; Kerry Romesburg — president, Jacksonville University; Adekunle Sogbesan — Twins Mortgage.
Robin Sorensen — Firehouse Subs; Michael Stewart — Jacksonville Aviation Authority; Frank Ting — Colliers Dickinson; James Tyler and Kellie Tyler — Haskell; Anna Valent — the Chamber; Alan Vinson — James Taylor Vinson Co.; Denise Wallace — BCM Services, Inc.; Steven Wallace — president, Florida Community College at Jacksonville; and Amelia Wallace — FCCJ.
Pricing
Chamber member (single occupancy): $6,250
Chamber member (double occupancy): $5,250
Non-member (single occupancy): $10,000
Non-member (double occupancy): $9,000
Total price for the China experience includes:
• Round-trip coach airfare from Jacksonville to Beijing
• Group air travel between each of the three destinations
• Ground transportation within each city
• Eight nights deluxe hotel accommodations in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong
• Most meals
• Tips and gratuities
• Travel insurance
• Travel visa
• Printed reference materials
• Speakers
• All scheduled activities
• The Jacksonville Experience
Destination Information
Beijing
As the capital city of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing is recognized as the political, educational and cultural center of the country. Dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley,” their economy is supported by blooming real estate and automobile sectors, with a growing emphasis on entrepreneurship and hi-tech startups. Beijing continues to be a major center for the computer and electronics industries, as well as pharmaceuticals-related research. Rich intellectual resources, including dozens of national scientific research institutes, 60 universities and colleges, and nearly 400 polytechnic and vocational schools contribute to an increasingly talented work force. Beijing is now preparing to step onto the world’s largest stage as home to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Shanghai
Originally a seaside fishing village, today Shanghai is the largest city in China, a cosmopolitan hot spot of more than 20 million residents, and one of the country’s chief cultural, commercial, financial and industrial centers. Located on the Yangtze River, Shanghai is home to one of the world’s busiest ports and became the largest cargo port in the world in 2005. Its extensive public transportation system includes the world’s most comprehensive busing service with nearly one thousand lines. Shanghai has recently increased its role in finance, banking, and as a major destination for corporate headquarters, fueling demand for a highly educated and modernized work force.
Hong Kong
Frequently described as a land where East meets West, Hong Kong is a cultural dichotomy, reflecting its traditional Chinese heritage and the modern influence of British Colonialism in the 20th Century. A center of international finance and global trade, the city boasts the greatest concentration of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong is home to premiere examples of modern architecture and a skyline recognized worldwide. The dense commercial skyscrapers lining the coast of Victoria Harbour include four of the world’s 15 tallest buildings. Hong Kong’s cosmopolitan nature is evident in the wide variety of cuisine earning upbeat and high-tech super city a unique label as the “World’s Fair of Food.”