by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
In conjunction with its 2007 Leadership Trip next month and the trip to China in March, the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting a local learning session about globalization and how it affects Jacksonville.
“Jacksonville Experience” will offer an interactive learning experience for those attending the trips as well as those who are unable to attend the leadership trips. The 2007 Leadership Trip is to Charleston, S.C. and The China Experience is March 9-16.
The Jacksonville Experience is Sept. 12 from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Osborn Center. Registration and breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. The learning session will conclude at 4 p.m. followed by a reception until 6 p.m.
“The learning session was designed to show how various companies can tap into international business opportunities,” said Jennifer MacPhee, director of marketing and communications for the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The Leadership Trips have been held for many years and MacPhee said they give business and community leaders an opportunity to see what is happening in other cities. The focus of the trips tends to be economic development and how that development can be implemented in some form in Jacksonville.
“These trips give us an opportunity to see as a community what is happening outside of our boundaries (Northeast Florida),” she said. “When we visit other cities we can see how they are dealing with globalization.”
MacPhee added that one of the most important parts of the Leadership Trip to Charleston is visiting the Port of Charleston.
“We will be able to see what they are doing at their port and how we can apply that to Jacksonville and what is happening here,” she added.
But before the trip, the Jacksonville Experience will provide those who are going on the trips, as well as those who aren’t, an overview of international business and its continuing development in Jacksonville.
Local experts will speak about the current state of the economy, Jacksonville’s plans for the future and what it will take for Jacksonville to be successful in a growing global economy.
Every year, the cost of the trips and who’s paying for them becomes a hot-button issue. Private companies pay for their employees to attend. However, City officials have usually traveled on taxpayer money. This year, the Chamber will defray some of the public costs.
“The Chamber has a fund through the Chamber Foundation assisting city employees to attend these trips,” said MacPhee.
For the Charleston trip there are 10 spots for City Council members, five spots for the mayor’s office and two for Duval County School Board members. For the trip to China there are two spots for the mayor’s office and two spots for City Council members.
To register for the Jacksonville Experience please contact Anna Valent at 366-6630 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Tickets cost $100 per person. Those who are attending the 2007 Leadership Trip and/or The China Experience can attend the Jacksonville Experience for free.
Speakers at the Jacksonville Experience
• Governor Charlie Crist
• Mayor John Peyton
• Nelson Miller, director of Logistics Bridgestone Firestone
• David Kulik, president & CEO CEVA Logistics
• Sean Snaith, Ph.D., economist University of Central Florida
• Kristi Bageant-Epperson, Site president & SVP CitiCards
• David Smith, president & CEO PSS World Medical
• John Berens, division executive Mortgage Loan Servicing Division of Washington Mutual
• Asok Chaudhuri, principal Heritage Capital Group
• John-Paul Saenz, vice president Latin America Region, The Haskell Company
• John Clark, executive director Jacksonville Aviation Authority
• Rick Ferin, executive director Jacksonville Port Authority