Hal Kitchin, 2013 Chairman of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, was presented the inaugural Leadership in Economic Advancement and Development (LEAD) Award by Duke Energy at the chamber’s 148th Annual Meeting on Feb.3.
The award recognizes a deserving North Carolina business leader who has spent extraordinary time, effort, and talent preparing the community for job growth and investment in a competitive market, according to a press release from the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce.
“Rare is the citizen economic developer, who after giving so effectively, chooses to eschew the spotlight and allow others to take the credit,” said John Geib, Duke Energy’s Director of Economic Development, during his presentation of the award to Kitchin. “He derives his reward instead from the simple knowledge that members of his community will now have a job where before there wasn’t one.”
Kitchin is a partner in the law firm McGuireWoods LLP, where he concentrates his practice on business and real estate litigation and creditor’s rights matters. Among his work with the Wilmington Chamber, he led an effort to revise the county’s zoning ordinance to better align with the competitive business climate of the southeastern United States, according to the press release.
He was selected by local elected officials to serve on the New Hanover County Economic Development Initiative Steering Committee, a group tasked with assisting with the creation of economic development recommendations put forth by the recognized economic development strategist Jay Garner. Kitchin also chairs Cape Fear Future, the chamber’s flagship initiative whose mission is to further develop the region’s workforce to promote economic development and ensure continued prosperity for the region. In addition to his work with the chamber, he serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
