Last week, the Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (CACCE) announced the winners of its 2016 Communication Excellence Awards. We are pleased to announce that, thanks in large part to the collaborative efforts of members like you, the North Carolina Chamber was recognized as one of two winners in the Campaign Category for our highly successful “NC Can’t Afford to Wait” campaign. As many of you know, that campaign consisted of a massive push to spread awareness around the looming transportation funding crisis which faced North Carolina at the start of 2015. Ultimately, our efforts helped encourage elected leaders to take important steps to address our long-term transportation funding challenges during the 2015 session.

We extend our thanks to CACCE for their recognition of our efforts on the “NC Can’t Afford to Wait” campaign and to each and every one of our members who contributed your time and resources to help make it an overwhelming success. The recognition serves as a reminder of the strength that the collective voice of job creators can bring toward addressing the long-term challenges facing our state. Together, we helped North Carolina address one of the most significant threats impacting our state’s future growth potential, as the once-in-a-generation reforms passed in 2015 helped secure a stable, long-term revenue stream for transportation funding and paved the way for more than 1.5 million new jobs for North Carolinians over the next 15 years.

In 2016, you can expect to see the NC Chamber continue to fight to secure an even stronger transportation future for our state. Included among the priorities of our 2016 JOBS Agenda is a commitment to advocate for measures that protect the integrity of the Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) law passed in 2013. Such measures will go a long way toward improving the state’s ability to make essential investments across the entire network. Throughout the 2016 session we will continue to update you on our efforts to further secure North Carolina’s transportation future.

Gary J. Salamido
Vice President, Government Affairs
North Carolina Chamber