Congressman Patrick McHenry this week welcomed representatives from the Tenth District’s Chambers of Commerce to Washington, DC for their inaugural fly-in, featuring meetings with White House officials, members of Congress, and economic development experts.

“The inaugural Tenth District Chamber of Commerce fly-in was a remarkable success,” said Congressman McHenry. “The purpose of this event is to build upon the working relationships between federal and local economic development initiatives. Strong partnerships lead to more ideas, better execution, and greater local job growth.”

One highlight during the two-day event was a presentation given by Patti Jensen, Shirley Hise, Andy Ashurst, and Bill Slagle, Jr. from the Mitchell County Development Foundation. They noted their collaboration with Congressman McHenry last year on a program called the “Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree,” a local economic development project that elicited national recognition in USA Today, HGTV as well as FOX and Friends. Click here to read more about the “Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree” story.

“Congressman McHenry is always here to help,” said Jensen during her presentation. “Sometimes it’s just as simple as telling him exactly what you need.”

Every Chamber of Commerce in the Tenth District was invited to participate. Chamber presidents and staff members as well as business leaders from Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Mitchell, and Iredell counties took part in Monday and Tuesday’s events.

A list of the event’s speakers is below:

Monday, April 30

• Secretary Mary Peters, U.S. Department of Transportation
• Acting Assistant Administrator Bill Wehrum, Environmental Protection Agency
• Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO)
• Rep. Jim McCrery (R-LA), Ranking Member on Ways and Means Committee
• Mr. Stuart McLean and Mr. Nathan Elia, Scottish Affairs Office
• Ms. Patti Jensen, Ms. Shirley Hise, Mr. Andy Ashurst, and Mr. Bill Slagle, Jr., Mitchell County Development Foundation

Tuesday, May 1

• Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), North Carolina
• Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), North Carolina
• Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), Financial Services Committee
• Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-NY), Ranking Member on Select Intelligence Committee
• Rep. John Mica (R-FL), Ranking Member on Transportation and Infrastructure Committee