On February 23rd, 2011 the Chamber of Commerce will host the annual Economic Outlook Breakfast at The Chariot, 715 N. Church Street, Hendersonville. Breakfast will be served at 7:30 am. The program, sponsored by Asheville Savings Bank, will begin at 8:00 am.

"The Chamber is pleased to partner with Asheville Savings Bank to host the annual Economic Outlook Breakfast," said 2011 Chamber Board of Directors Chairman Jimm Bunch. "Louis is a new presenter for the breakfast and we are hoping he will bring a different outlook on how the economy will be shaping up throughout 2011."

The speaker is Louis E. Buck, Jr. , Wesley Elingburg Distinguished Professor of Business Innovation and the Interim Dean in the College of Business at Western Carolina University.

Louis has more than 25 years of business experience in the areas of finance, accounting, risk management and information systems. Prior to assuming his role as Director of the CEI in August of 2007, Louis was the Chief Financial Officer for the competitive businesses of Consolidated Edison, Inc. in New York. Previously Louis had served as the senior director of the Business Solutions practice for Walker Interactive Systems, Inc., the Chief Accounting Officer for Entergy Corporation, Chief Financial Officer for the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and in various management capacities at TXU Corporation.

Louis received a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy, a MBA from the University of Houston / CLC and a Ph. D. (Finance) from Texas A&M University. Louis is a retired Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He and his wife Nancy have two grown sons who reside in Baltimore, MD and Washington, D.C.

Cost to attend the breakfast is $15 per person for Chamber members, $25 per person for non-members. Tables of 8 may be reserved for $100. Please RSVP to the Chamber, 828.692.1413, by Friday, February 18th. Payment in advance is requested.