For Members Only is published monthly by NCCBI when the General Assembly is not in session  

Business & Basketball
A profile of Robert L. Johnson, keynote speaker
for NCCBI’s 62^nd Annual Meeting on March 17

By the time he was 34 years old, Robert L. Johnson had achieved greater personal and business success than the vast majority of people do by the time they’re 64. He had earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Princeton, took his first job at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington, moved up to be press secretary for a member of Congress, was lured away to be a congressional lobbyist for the cable television industry, then started his own TV network -- a company he later would sell for $3 billion and pocket half.

Not bad for a kid who was born the ninth of 10 children in Hickory, Mississippi, population 493.

Now at the ripe old age of 57, Bob Johnson, who will be the keynote speaker at NCCBI’s 62^nd Annual Meeting on March 17, is regarded as one of the nation’s most successful business leaders. Among his many diverse interests is bringing professional basketball back to the Carolinas. His Charlotte Bobcats will begin play this fall in the NBA’s new Southeast Division against the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards. Next year the team will move to the new $150 million Charlotte Coliseum the city is now constructing in Uptown. Johnson also owns the Charlotte Sting professional women’s basketball team.

The Queen City -- which hardly shed a tear when the owners of the Charlotte Hornets moved the team to New Orleans last year -- has warmly embraced Johnson. He has returned the welcome in many ways, including donating $1 million to build a new YMCA in a distressed part of town.

Several influential North Carolina business leaders have purchased minority interests in Bobcats Basketball Holdings LLC, the ownership group of the Charlotte Bobcats and the WNBA Charlotte Sting. They include Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp; Skipper Beck, partner in Beck Automotive Group; North Carolina native M.L. Carr, former NBA star and past president of the Sting; Howard Levine, chairman and CEO of Family Dollar Stores; Hugh McColl Jr., former CEO of Bank of America; Felix Sabates, owner of NASCAR Winston Cup racing teams and the Charlotte Checkers minor league hockey club; Nelson Schwab III, co-founder of Carousel Capital; Anderson Warlick, CEO of Parkdale Mills; and Ed Weisiger Jr., president and CEO of Carolina Tractor and past chairman of the Charlotte Chamber.

Left: Bob Johnson receives congratulations from NBA Commissioner David Stern (left) and Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.

Johnson recently was ranked No. 1 on Sports Illustrated Magazine’s “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.” He also has received Princeton’s Distinguished Alumni Award, been inducted into Broadcasting & Cable Magazine's Hall of Fame; received the NAACP’s Image Award and the National Women’s Political Caucus’ Good Guys Award. He is a director of US Airways, Hilton Hotels, General Mills, the United Negro College Fund, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the American Film Institute. He also is a member of the board of governors for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the Grammy Foundation and the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C.

Although he was born in Mississippi, Johnson grew up in Illinois and studied history at the University of Illinois before earning his master’s at Princeton in 1972. His first job was at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington, but he soon was hired as the press secretary for Cong. Walter E. Fauntroy, the congressional delegate from the District of Columbia. In 1976 he was recruited as vice president of government relations for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), a trade association representing more than 1,500 cable television companies.

New technology was allowing most local cable systems to greatly expand the number of channels they offered subscribers, and a huge demand arose for programming to fill those new channels. Johnson saw this need, and in 1979 he left NCTA, borrowed $15,000 from some close friends and launched Black Entertainment Television, the first cable television network aimed at African Americans. The network launched in January 1980, broadcasting for two hours a week.

BET enjoyed rapid growth, eventually reaching 75 million U.S. homes. Eleven years after the channel first went on air, BET became the first black-controlled company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998, Johnson took the company private, buying back all of its publicly traded stock. A year later, Viacom bought BET for $3 billion in stock, of which $1.5 billion went to Johnson, who was retained under a multi-year contract as the company's chairman and CEO.

In the nearly four years since then, Johnson has expanded and diversified the BET brand with several new ventures, including BET.com, the No. 1-rated Internet portal for African-Americans; BET Digital Networks, which broadcast jazz, gospel and hip-hop music; BET Event Productions, which provides event management, talent recruitment and stage production facilities; and BET Books, the nation’s leading publisher of African-American themed romance novels.

Johnson personally owns several businesses that operate under an umbrella company called The RLJ Companies. RLJ owns or holds interests in companies operating in the professional sports, hospitality/restaurant, real estate, gaming and media/entertainment industries. He also owns one of the nation’s largest and oldest collections of African American art, the Barnett-Aden Collection, and the rights to several motion pictures.

Collins, Mitchell to receive NCCBI’s highest awards

Booth space filling up fast for Expo
Booth space is filling fast for the NCCBI Expo, which will be held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting on March 17 at the Raleigh Conference and Convention Center.

The association's 62nd annual meeting is expected to attract nearly a thousand business, political and civic leaders. The daylong event will feature several activities, including afternoon seminars, a trade show covering the convention center floor and an evening reception.

The Expo has grown from a few small tabletop displays a dozen years ago to a large trade show with innovative visual displays that are both attractive and informative. More than 75 exhibitors participated last year, and the numbers are expected to grow again in 2004.

"We have a real variety of exhibitors this year," said Julie Woodson, who coordinates the Expo for NCCBI. "The Charlotte Bobcats team will exhibit, along with the 2005 U.S. Open. Numerous hotels and resorts across the state as well as the University System and the Community College System will exhibit. We're also bringing back the Goodness Grows pavilion where North Carolina-based companies will be sharing samples of state-grown foods with people attending the trade show."

The Expo will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the day culminates with an evening reception that is always packed with people and offers maximum exposure to the exhibitors.

 "The Expo is an awesome marketing opportunity for anyone who wants to have face-to-face contact with top CEOs and the highest elected officials in the state of North Carolina," Woodson said. "It is an opportunity to exhibit your products or services and your potential customers actually come to you."

Cost is always kept reasonable for the Expo. For NCCBI members, it's only $400. For non-members the cost is $500. The fee includes a 10-by-10-foot draped booth space, an 8-foot skirted table and a sign designating the name of your company or organization.

For more information about the Expo and for a registration form, please contact Woodson at 919-836-1402 or e-mail her at jwoodson@nccbi.org.  An Expo registration form also may be downloaded from the NCCBI website, www.nccbi.org. A form also is included at the end of this newsletter.

The afternoon seminars at the Annual Meeting will focus on economic development issues and the importance of North Carolina’s military bases.


New enhancement added to Second Mile campaign
For many years loyal members of NCCBI have supported the Annual Meeting by contributing to the association’s Second Mile campaign, which raises funds to help offset the huge expense of putting on such a large event. In the past NCCBI has thanked the Second Mile contributors in various ways, both publicly and privately, but this year we wanted to do something additional.

The “something extra” that NCCBI will do to strengthen this year’s “Second Mile” campaign is to seat contributors in reserved tables during the Annual Meeting luncheon. That way, colleagues will be guaranteed of sitting together at reserved tables located upfront. Here are the four levels in this year’s campaign plus the rewards associated with each one:
 
Platinum level sponsors – those giving at the $10,000 level – will receive four reserved tables of eight at the luncheon plus 32 tickets to the evening reception. Platinum sponsors also will be profiled with a picture in the April issue of the North Carolina magazine, receive a free half-page ad in the magazine, be listed in the Annual Meeting program, receive special recognition from the podium and be prominently featured on the video screen.

Gold level sponsors – those giving at the $5,000 level – will receive three reserved tables of eight at the luncheon plus 24 tickets to the evening reception. Gold sponsors also will be profiled in the April magazine, be listed in the program, be recognized from the podium and be prominently featured on the video screen.

Silver level sponsors – those giving at the $2,500 level – will receive two reserved tables of eight at the luncheon plus 16 tickets to the evening reception. Silver sponsors also will be listed in the program and included in the sponsors list on the video screen.

Bronze level sponsors – those giving at the $1,000 level – will receive one reserved table of eight at the luncheon plus eight tickets for the evening reception, be listed in the program and included in the sponsors list on the video screen.

Two NCCBI members, Wachovia Corp. and Martin Marietta Materials, already have committed as Platinum sponsors for the Annual Meeting. Click here to download a Second Mile form. NCCBI thanks you for your support.

”We realize that many of our members cannot participate at these levels,” said NCCBI President Phil Kirk. “We will cheerfully accept contributions of any size and all will be acknowledged in the printed program and in the magazine.”

Economic Development
Economist predicts 3.5% growth in state’s economy

Though North Carolina’s economy is not yet out of the woods, 2004 should be a year of steady growth, minimal inflation and modest employment gains, according to Harry Davis, an economist for the N.C. Bankers Association. Davis, along with a list of speakers that included Gov. Michael Easley, offered their assessments at the 2004 Economic Forecast Forum at Cary’s Embassy Suites Hotel. About 700 business leaders turned out for the Jan. 5 event, which was co-hosted for the second consecutive year by NCCBI and the NCBA.

Davis, a professor of finance at Appalachian State University, expects the state’s economy to grow at a 3.5 percent clip in 2004, a full percentage point beneath that of the nation overall. Leading the way will be tourism, banking, real estate, high-tech, medical and pharmaceuticals, he predicted. “That’s where the growth will be going forward.” Though North Carolina lost another 26,000 manufacturing jobs in 2003, Davis believes the sector is now on the mend. “There are signs that manufacturing is coming back,” he said, thanks in part to improvements in productivity and an undervalued dollar that enhances the overseas marketability of items such as N.C.-made technology equipment. Davis is looking for the dollar to suffer another 10 percent decline later this year before bottoming out. “That’s actually a positive sign for our manufacturing,” he said.

Much of Davis’ central thesis was echoed in a Bank of America survey of 200 North Carolina business leaders conducted in late 2003. While 91 percent of respondents expect either “strong” or “moderate” economic growth across the U.S. this year, only 69 percent were that optimistic about North Carolina’s fortunes in 2004. More than half said they anticipate adding at least some jobs, according to Graham Denton, president of Bank of America, North Carolina, who discussed the survey’s findings. Another hopeful sign: nearly 6 in 10 respondents plan to boost capital budgets this year. “Responses on capital spending are significantly more encouraging than in recent years,” Denton said.

State Treasurer Richard Moore said he believed the worst of North Carolina’s fiscal woes were behind it, though scant resources would be available for new spending. The state’s revenue figures as of November 2003 were on target courtesy of a strong showing from employee withholdings and sales tax receipts. “It looks like we ought to hit those numbers,” Moore said. He hoped state leaders would turn their attention to “liquidity issues,” and consider making cuts to the corporate income tax rate. The latter move would enhance the state’s attractiveness as a business destination, he said. “We can afford to do that.”

Easley, the forum’s final speaker, said improvements to the state’s industrial recruitment program have begun to bear fruit. “We’ve got more (relocation announcements) in the pipeline than anytime since I’ve been governor,” Easley said. The One North Carolina Fund and the Job Development Investment Grant Program (JDIG), as well as the state’s ongoing commitment to education, were among the reasons the state is so well regarded by relocation publications and site search consultants, he added.

While expressing optimism about 2004, Easley warned that the state should brace itself for another wave of job losses in early 2005 when a final reduction of quota levels unleashes more foreign-made textiles into U.S. markets. He described the impact of new trade agreements as “the unknown that could be the fly in the ointment for us,” and urged business leaders to voice their concerns to congressional leaders, who might act to slow the dismantling of trade barriers. “We can’t transition but so rapidly,” said Easley. — Lawrence Bivins


State Government
As NCCBI asked, Governor assigns
staff person to Fiscal Reform Council

For only the third time since it was appointed last March, the Business Council for Fiscal Reform will meet Feb. 11 in Raleigh. The meeting will be at 11 a.m. in the ABC Commission Room on the 5^th floor of the Administration Building at 116 W. Jones Street.

The meeting follows Gov. Mike Easley’s assignment in late December of staff support for the Council. Earlier in the month, NCCBI Chair Sue Cole and President Phil Kirk wrote the governor asking for such staff support and expressing concern that the council’s progress would be hindered without it.

On Dec. 22 the governor responded by informing Kirk and Cole that Angela Houston, a management engineer in the State Budget Office, has been assigned to work with the Council.  She and Dan Gerlach, the governor’s senior policy advisor for fiscal affairs, recently met with the council’s co-chairs Jim Hyler and Bill Coley, to discuss plans for moving forward.

Hyler said, “Angela has begun reviewing several areas to determine details for recommendations the council might make. On February 11 she will give the council a report on the progress of her work so far.”

Kirk said, “We appreciate the governor’s response. In the past he has expressed strong support for more fiscal efficiency in state government. We look forward to supporting the council and governor’s efforts to turn recommendations into reality.”

Background: Governor Easley appointed the Business Council for Fiscal Reform last March to review the recommendations of the Governor’s Commission to Promote Efficiency in State Government and Savings on State Spending. Jim Hyler of Raleigh, the First Citizens Bank executive and past chair of NCCBI, was appointed to lead the commission along with Bill Coley, the retired Duke Power Co. president. The Efficiency Commission issued its final report in December 2002 which identifies many examples of government waste, including:  

• Costly archaic government procedures
• Unnecessary program overlap
• A pay system that rewarded seniority more than productivity
• Duplicative personnel systems
• Disincentives to agency savings
• No systematic justification of need for the annual 10,000 job vacancies
• Serious operational deficiencies in the state's $700 million information technology (IT) programs
• 40 separate payroll systems that can't talk with each other

The Business Council for Fiscal Reform, most of whose members are leaders in NCCBI, was appointed to identify ways to address the Efficiency Commission’s concerns.  Thus far it has made no recommendations.

Mt. Olive Pickle president joins NCCBI board
William H. Bryan, president and treasurer of Mount Olive Pickle Co. Inc. in Mount Olive, has been elected to fill a three-year unexpired term on the NCCBI Board of Directors. Bryan was featured recently on the cover of the Wayne County community profile in the NORTH CAROLINA magazine. "We are pleased to have a person of Bill's enthusiasm and dedication as a new member of our board of directors," NCCBI President Phil Kirk said.

Magazine hires new account executive

For more than 18 years, Carolyn Ward successfully has sold print advertising and was the sales director for two publishing companies. Now, Ward is the new account executive for North Carolina magazine. Ward, an independent contractor based out of her home in Mooresville, will serve clients and generate new business in the area west of the Triangle, including Charlotte, the Triad and the mountains. She replaces Steve Johnson, who passed away unexpectedly in November after suffering massive heart failure.

“Joining North Carolina Magazine was an easy decision because it serves a market that is growing, and one that is important to me,” Ward says. “The magazine’s readers are the business decision makers who in large part are responsible for the future of the state.

Ward began her sales career in 1985 as advertising director of Douglas Publications Inc., which publishes a host of trade publications for the medical, construction, real estate, environmental and robotics industries. She held the same position for Group III Inc., a similar publishing group for five national publications. Most recently, she was the representative for the Americas for the British firm Wilmington Publishing Co. UK.

She is married to Robert Ward, an accountant for the U.S. Postal Service. They have two children, Thea Ward-Robichaux, a graduate of N.C. State University who own Lift Solutions, a specialized engineering firm in Mooresville. Their younger daughter, Taeh Ward, who graduated from Duke University and currently is enrolled in a Ph.D.program in clinical psychology at the University of Tulsa. Carolyn Ward graduated from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte with degrees in biology and Spanish and later taught in Vietnam.

Ward can be reached at 704-663-0317, or by email at cwardncmag@adelphia.net.