by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The business world has had an opportunity to come up for air recently, but how long that breath will last is a risky estimate.
This was the message Dennis Lockhart, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta, told Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce members at its Quarterly Cornerstone Luncheon Monday.
“Although conditions have improved on some fronts, I don’t feel we can yet ‘breathe easy,’” said Lockhart. “The path of the economy is still enveloped in considerable uncertainty, and serious risks.”
Lockhart pointed out that Jacksonville will be a contributor to the future of the economy being a center for international commerce. Lockhart’s outlook on the economy for the rest of 2008 and 2009 was, “not so severe a slowdown, but (we will) not see quick a recovery.”
The day was a little brighter for Northwest Mutual Financial Network-The Koch Group. The company was awarded the Cornerstone Chair Award for its “outstanding business performance and corporate citizenship.”
The company offers insurance, investment products and advisory services to help people in the areas of financial protection, wealth accumulation and estate preservation and distribution. It has served the Northeast Florida-Southwest Georgia area for more than 50 years.
“It’s always great to be recognized among such great peers,” said Bill Koch, managing partner of The Koch Group. “It’s nice to be recognized for doing nice things.”
The company’s 95 employees donate their time to a variety of volunteer and charitable causes including The North Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Junior Achievement of Florida’s First Coast, Jacksonville Ronald McDonald House, Jobs for Florida Graduates, and Epilepsy Foundation of Northeast Florida.
Those employees are located in offices in Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, Gainesville, Daytona Beach and Savannah. The Jacksonville office is home to 50 of those employees.