St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce officers met with Innovative Communication Corp. officials Thursday and decided to move forward with an idea put forth last month by the territory's largest private-sector employer, ICC owner Jeffrey Prosser: that a small group made up mainly of business leaders take on the task of identifying and hiring top-flight consultants to advise the territory on how best to attract outside investment.
Speaking at the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber's annual meeting on May 15, Prosser, who lives on St. Croix, had pledged to put up half a million dollars toward the effort if others would match it with at least half that much. So far, no business has offered to do so.
A release issued by the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber following Thursday's meeting termed it "productive" and said the group would gather for a second session in the coming week, this time on St. Croix.
According to the release, those present agreed that each island would determine what it has to offer investors, and market these strengths aggressively.
MSI Building Supplies owner Tom Brunt, who served as chamber president in 1997-99, said the group will "need to maintain a narrow focus in order to achieve success." Current St. Croix Chamber president Charles Hensley said the business community had reservations about "throwing money after more meetings and talk," but that the effort could pay off "if we have a solid plan with the people to implement it."
Edward Thomas, chief executive officer of The West Indian Company, said that for the concept to work, the task force will need to be clear about what direction the territory wants to go economically.
ICC's vice president for corporate affairs, Holland Redfield, said it was crucial "that we work together as a team with the objective of moving this territory forward economically."
The release said the core working group will have seven members "representing the public and private sectors," each with one vote. Prosser had proposed at the chamber luncheon that the core group consist of two members from each chamber, one from Government House, one from the Legislature and one from ICC.
Prosser did not attend Thursday's meeting. He has apparently designated Redfield, a longtime senator who did not seek re-election two years ago, to be his point man on the project.
In his May 15 speech, Prosser – whose holdings include the Virgin Islands Telephone Corp., the V.I. Daily News, the territory's two cable television companies, VitelCellular, Vitelcom, VI PowerNet and the V.I. Community Bank, as well as several other Caribbean cable companies – expressed skepticism about the five-year economic recovery plan recently submitted to the administration by a task force appointed by the governor. Many of the ideas the plan advances, while having merit, "have been rehashed and regurgitated" for years and even decades, he said.
His own vision for economic recovery, he said, focused on "environmentally sensitive growth" built upon such industries as telecommunications, insurance, banking and electronic technology.
Those at Thursday's meeting agreed on the need to study what other communities are doing to attract investment.
Former Labor Department commissioner Carmelo Rivera, representing the St. Croix Chamber, urged that the two chambers combine efforts to maximize their marketing potential.
Hensley and St. Thomas-St. John Chamber president John deJongh Jr. both said they would take the day's discussions to their boards for feedback.
