Mayor Stimpson participates in White House briefing
Jul 22nd, 2015
Mayor Sandy Stimpson traveled today to Washington, D.C., where he participated in a briefing at the White House with President Obama and Senior Administration Officials to discuss the lapse in authority at the Export-Import Bank of the United States.Mayor Stimpson was among a group of 10 small business owners and two mayors from across America who were invited to participate in the hour-long meeting, which was held in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.
"I agreed to attend the meeting at the request of the White House so that I could listen and learn about an important issue for our community," Mayor Stimpson said today following the meeting. "I was honored to be invited and I am excited by the national attention that Mobile is receiving. Our city is on the move, and this was an incredible opportunity to continue to spread the good news about Mobile."
Mayor Stimpson said he would share information discussed at the meeting with members of Alabama's congressional delegation.
"It is up to our delegation to determine whether or not the legislation that is before them is good policy," Stimpson said. "I can say that the stories we heard from the private sector were very compelling, and there is no question that the failure to re-authorize the Ex-Im Bank would hurt the businesses that rely on it for funding, including several companies in Mobile."
In addition to President Obama, members of the Administration who joined the meeting included Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs; Jeff Zients, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council; and Fred Hochberg, Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
In addition to Mayor Stimpson, invited guests included:
- Luis Arguello, Chairman & CEO, DemeTech - Miami, FL
- Susan Axelrod, President, Love & Quiches - Freeport, NY
- Donald Daviess, Co-founder, Tri-Tech Medical - Avon, OH
- Mary Howe, President, Howe Corporation - Chicago, IL
- David Ickert, Vice President of Finance, AirTractor - Olney, TX
- Susan Jaime, Founder, Ferra Coffee - San Antonio, TX
- Daniel Roberts, General Manager, Manhasset Specialty Company- Yakima, WA
- Jim Rutkowski, Jr., General Manager, Industrial Sales & Manufacturing - Erie, PA
- Paul Sullivan, Vice President of International Business Development, Acrow Bridges - Parsippany, NJ
- John "Trey" Winthrop, Vice President of Finance, Bob's Red Mill - Milwaukie, OR
- Mayor Sandy Stimpson - Mobile, AL
- Mayor John Giles - Mesa, AZ
Mayor Stimpson departed for Washington early Wednesday and is scheduled to return to Mobile later tonight.