EXECUTIVE UPDATE / November 19, 2004

Chefs Catalog Inc., the cooking equipment catalog company, is planning to locate in Colorado Springs. The company will hire between 100 and 125 people locally. The company has been acquired by Pikes Peak Direct Marketing, Inc., which was founded by former executives of the departed Walter Drake catalog operation, including its former CEO Jon Medved.
Over nineteen new and expanded companies will be recognized at the December 8 EDC annual holiday reception. The event will be sponsored by Holland & Hart, Vectra Bank Colorado, Pikes Peak United Way, and Wells Fargo Bank. The United States Olympic Committee will also receive special recognition for its outstanding success in preparing U. S. athletes for the Athens Olympic Games this summer. USOC/US Olympic Training Center operations in Colorado Springs create a positive image of the community around the world. Mayor Rivera will present awards to the honorees. Call (719) 475-6461 to register.
Colorado ranks high for locating business operations. For the first time since 2000, Colorado made the top 10 list of places where corporate executives look to expand or relocate, according to a reader survey by trade journal Plants Sites and Parks.
NASA has awarded Colorado companies and researchers $130 million for projects to help the space agency send astronauts back to the moon and, eventually, to Mars. Only California won a larger share of more than $1 billion in research and technology awards. Ball Aerospace & Technologies, the Colorado School of Mines, ITN Energy Systems, Lockheed Martin and the University of Colorado received funding. (Source: Denver Post/Space Foundation)
The first Colorado Space Rendezvous will be held December 8 in Denver at the Colorado History Museum from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Lt. Governor Jane Norton and General Lance Lord, Commander of Air Force Space Command, will head a distinguished group of Colorado leaders in government, business and academia participating as speakers and panel members. Principle organizers of the event are participants in the Colorado Space Coalition which includes the Space Foundation, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, The Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation, the Colorado Space Business Roundtable, the State of Colorado, and the University of Colorado. Register online at www.spacesymposium.org/rendezvous.
Kiplinger Editors predict that the recent voter approval to raise taxes to pay for transportation improvements in Colorado and Arizona will serve as a pointed reminder to Capitol Hill, where a big highway bill is stalled. Colorado Springs voters recently passed a one-cent sales tax to fund a new Rural Transportation Authority which will address needs for road maintenance, construction, and public transit in Colorado Springs and El Paso County. Denver area voters approved the ambitious metro-wide FasTracks mass transit system.
Job ‘Insourcing’ Should Not Be Overlooked. Foreign direct investment in the United States accounted for four percent of all U.S. employment in 2002, according to an October 2004 study released by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. From 1988 to 2003, foreign companies increased their direct investment in their American subsidiaries by 326 percent. The study also found that annual wages at majority-owned American subsidiaries of foreign companies were higher than average. (Source: International Economic Development Council)
Colorado Springs School District 11 and Academy School District 20 have been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 as two of 18 organizations nationwide named as ENERGY STAR leaders for demonstrating superior energy management and environmental leadership.
2004 Holiday Volunteer Guide now available. In addition to volunteer opportunities, the Guide features information about toy, clothing and food drives, gift-wrapping and delivery of food and gift baskets. Contact the Volunteer Center (719) 575-4345 or pick up a free copy at 518 North Nevada.