The 2025 Southern Economic Development Roundtable and the 2024 Southern Automotive Corridor Summit events

The 2024 and 2025 Southern Economic Development Roundtables and the 2024 Southern Automotive Corridor Summit events are now crossed off our to-do list. We might have another event for younger folks in the fall, and we are moving SEDR to December because of one thing: Snow.At.The.Beach. Unheard of for the Florida Panhandle. 

Attendance for the last two SEDRs@RosemaryBeach@ThePearlHotel were affected by snow and cold. In 2024, there were 55 attendees (sold out), but snow (and the pandemic) in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee caused 22 to cancel. 

This January, it was not snow in those states, but snow on the beach at Rosemary! We lost 23 out of 55 (sold out again) at SEDR2025@ThePearl, some of which were in Florida, just 50 miles away. 

Yet, most who flew through Atlanta had a tough time getting to the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, as it was closed the first day of the meeting. Some got to Atlanta and had to head back home. Some were held up at airports in addition to Atlanta, including Charlotte, Nashville, Dallas and elsewhere in the region. 

At SEDR2025@Rosemary, we also lost six keynote speakers, including Hall of Famers George Swift, Neal Wade, Dr. Walter Kemmsies (look him up), Mark Vitner (chief economist), John Hull (Va.), Sean Malott (Fla.), Cliff Brumfield (N.C.), Roger Cook (Tenn.), Mark Heath and James McClain (Va.) among others.

But not all was lost. Gray Swoope and Laura DiBella (Fla.) presented, along with former Port of South Carolina CEO Jim Newsome, Chris Berryman, James Chavez, Ed Castile, Matt Kisber, Connie Bainbridge, Kyle Spurgeon, the SC-Connection George Kosinsky, John Truluck, Chuck Whipple and Robert Long (they are all killing it), and young guns Shelby Stringfellow, Mallory Darby, Justice Smyth and several others were called up to speak and/or lead discussions who were not on the docket. 

And Glenn McCullough was there presenting, as was Dr. Kemmsies via video from Savannah, Ga. Walter Sprouse (a longtime friend of SB&D) was in attendance, however, Raul Peralta didn’t make it and he would walk to SEDR or SEDC if he had to. Not in two feet of snow. 

All in all, the 34 or so who were there had a wonderful Friday with snow on the beach, day-long discussions and the reception at The Pearl that night. 

The 2024 Southern Automotive Corridor Summit in Greenville, S.C., at the Grand Bohemian Lodge was close to a sellout, too, like both SEDRs the last two years. That event last summer featured Alan Amici, CEO of the Center for Automotive Research, and Dr. Joachim G. Taiber. Taiber, an Austrian, came over with BMW in 1992 to help launch the BMW plant in the Greenville metro. Also, Greenville Mayor Knox White, who is in this issue’s Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame, was our luncheon speaker. We will be back in Greenville at the Bohemian. Outstanding hotel. 

Here is what one person said about our Southern Automotive Corridor Summit in the economic development mecca city of Greenville.  

“Michael, Thanks for putting together the Southern Auto Corridor Summit in Greenville, S.C., at the Grand Bohemian. The event totally surpassed my expectations, and I feel lucky to have attended. I am an investor in the Southeast, and found the information to be incredibly helpful, however, to be frank, it was such a dynamic room with so many heavy hitters that I just felt lucky to be in the room where it happened. So, thank you for allowing me to attend. I am reaching out to say thank you.” 

Jason Sippey, Logic Capital

Here is what one attendee said about the Southern Economic Development Roundtable: 

“As for what I’d like to say to the SEDR group — this is by far the absolute best think-tank event for economic development leadership on earth! I could also say this is by far better than any other economic development conference, but honestly, there simply is NOT another like it, period.”

Cliff Brumfield, Lincoln Economic Development Association