CoreNet Global has announced that the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce is the winner of the 2006 Economic Development Leadership Award for its accomplishments of the Opportunity Austin initiative to create 72,000 new jobs in the region by 2008. The award recognizes leadership, best practices and innovations in economic development among the organizations serving communities and corporations involved in location decisions.

“This award recognizes the success of Opportunity Austin in its plan to create thousands of jobs for our region,” said Dave Porter, Greater Austin Chamber Sr. Vice President of Economic Development. “We’re grateful for the focus, faith and fortitude exhibited by our employees and volunteers as we work toward this critical community goal.”

CoreNet Global is the world’s leading professional association of corporate real estate executives. Its members include senior-level corporate real estate executives involved in these strategic roles and economic development organizations, representing national, state, regional and local interests. This recognition places the Greater Austin Chamber among an elite group of organizations nationwide for its innovation developing Opportunity Austin.

The Greater Austin Chamber was one of eight finalists in the area of Leadership and Innovation. Other finalists were the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Northern Kentucky Tri-Economic Development, Greater Louisville, Inc., Oregon Economic Development Association, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Tinley Park Illinois.

Successes from 2005 outlined in the Chamber’s entry included:

• Freescale Semiconductor selected Austin as the site for its new global headquarters
• AMD began building a new campus, doubling its office space
• Forbes Magazine named Austin the third best city to do business
• Axalto, a leading supplier of Smart Cards, decided to locate its headquarters in Austin
• US Aquaculture broke ground on a new $5 million fish-raising facility in Taylor