Chamber Names Pete Havel Executive Director of South Central Regional Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce tapped Pete Havel as Executive Director for the South Central Regional office. Havel will maintain the legislative, political and grassroots resources for the Chamber in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma.

"Pete brings a wealth of political expertise and his own experiences as an entrepreneur to this position," said Thomas J. Donohue, Chamber President and CEO. "He will be a great asset to Chamber members on critical business issues as well as a pro-business resource for voters during next fall's elections."

Havel opened his own political and government affairs consulting agency in May of 2002 and the firm's clientele included the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Arkansas Republican Party and various members of Congress. Prior to starting the consulting firm, Havel was South Central and Southeastern regional political director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, guiding political and media efforts in 15 states. Havel also held a similar post with the Associated Builders and Contractors, was a consultant for an Emmy Award-winning talk show in Boston, and worked as a radio producer. Havel is a graduate of Baylor University and resides in Texas.

The Chamber's eight regional directors play a critical role in communicating the Chamber's message of free enterprise at the local level. They work extensively on both the Chamber's political program and endorsements of congressional candidates, and educate local business and association leaders on the Chamber's policy agenda. The Chamber is aggressively working on a number of important businesses issues in the areas of transportation, free trade, health care, legal reform, environmental reform, tax reduction and labor and will once again be heavily involved in a number of key House and Senate races in the 2004 elections.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses of every size, sector and region.

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