With more than $20 billion a year flowing into federal facilities and contractors from Oak Ridge to Huntsville, Ala., Chattanooga is at the hub of one of America’s richest government-led technology corridors.
The leaders for many of the region’s energy, space and military programs are in Chattanooga today to talk about how to better coordinate and capitalize on the government’s investment.
The Tennessee Valley Corridor, a regional economic development organization launched in Chattanooga in 1995 by former U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, returns to Chattanooga today for its annual summit on “Building America’s New Economy.”
The gathering is the first since Wamp left Congress in January and comes as many in the new Congress are looking for ways to cut federal spending.
Doug Fisher, an Erlanger hospital executive and a former district director for Wamp who now is chairman of the Tennessee Valley Corridor board, said the corridor initiative is moving beyond just the federal projects upon which it was created.