Dear Mobile Chamber Members,

I’m writing this week from Dublin, Ireland, where we’re hosting the 2025 Leaders Exchange.

Leaders Exchange is one of the most impactful programs we offer each year. It’s where business, government and community leaders step out of the day-to-day to look at how other cities are solving challenges and how we can bring those lessons home to Mobile.

This year we’re in Dublin because it’s a global hub for technology, trade and talent. The city has reinvented itself into a center for innovation and economic growth, and there’s a lot we can learn from that.

We’re spending time digging into how their startup ecosystem works, how tech accelerators, universities and industry partners collaborate to support new companies and ideas.

We’re looking closely at how they’re building talent pipelines through industry-led training and how they’re thinking about the future of logistics and supply chains through places like the Shannon Foynes Port.

We have even spent time in the Irish Parliament learning how their legislative process supports growth and innovation, exploring how policy can be a tool to drive progress.

There’s also a cultural piece to all of this. Dublin has turned its history, walkable neighborhoods and tourism sector into an economic engine. It’s a reminder that quality of life is a powerful part of any city’s growth strategy.

If history is any indication, trips like this pay off. Projects like the South Alabama Logistics Park, Innovation Portal and the Three Mile Creek initiative all started as ideas on past Leaders Exchange trips.

I’m excited about what we’ll bring back from Dublin and how those ideas will shape Mobile’s next chapter.

The Eagle Awards are coming up next Friday. This is one of my favorite ways we get to celebrate the incredible minority-owned businesses that fuel our local economy and strengthen our community.

These companies are leaders, innovators and deeply committed to making Mobile a better place. I look forward to this event every year.

This year’s awards are set for Friday, October 17 at The Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel & Spa and you can click here secure one of the last remaining tickets.

The day starts with the Eagle Business Forum at 9 a.m., featuring Dr. Thomas Nelson from the University of South Alabama with a talk on how artificial intelligence is shaping our work and lives.

Then, at 11:30 a.m., we’ll gather for the Eagle Awards luncheon and ceremony. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Kalisha Dessources Figures, is a dynamic leader and strategist who’s spent her career building partnerships and empowering the next generation.

We’ll be honoring two outstanding businesses this year.

• Rice & Reese Funeral Home has spent nearly 50 years serving families in Prichard with compassion and care and they continue to show up for their community in meaningful ways far beyond their day-to-day work.
• Corporate Environmental Risk Management, or CERM, started with two friends from Prichard and has grown into a nationally respected firm improving infrastructure and creating opportunities across the Southeast.

We’ll also posthumously honor the legacy of Major General J. Gary Cooper, a decorated Marine, business leader and public servant whose trailblazing career and commitment to service left a lasting mark on our community and country.

I hope you’ll make plans to join us, not just to celebrate these honorees, but to show your support for the businesses and leaders who make Mobile stronger. It’s an inspiring day every single year, and I promise you’ll leave feeling proud of what’s happening right here in our city.

Until next week,

Originally published Friday, October 3.