Almost 50 business, government, and professional leaders attended an organizational meeting on January 17th to learn about the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce's plans to develop a strong support group in Nashville, Tennessee . At the meeting, Matthew Kisber, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development, announced that Governor Phil Bredesen is committed to leading a business mission to within the year.

Sponsored by Mike Shermerling of Choice Food Group and organized by AICC member Michael Pote, a medical technology consultant who works with Israeli companies, the luncheon event featured the Chamber's president Tom Glaser who led an interactive session on Israeli business opportunities and historical track record of success with Tennessee . The effort was strongly endorsed by Uzi Yemin, CEO of Delek USA, the Nashville-based subsidiary of one of 's most successful companies that owns over 500 gas stations/convenience stores in the Southeast, an oil refinery in Texas , and pipeline.

The session produced a series of objectives for the next 12 months that included:

* Recruitment and programming related to the Governor's Mission.
* A mini-business exchange that would bring a number of Israeli companies to Nashville to meet with potential business partners, investors, and customers around a specific industry cluster such as Healthcare or Automotive.
* Identification of leaders in the venture capital and investment community to learn about Israeli technology companies seeking capital to establish US operations.
* Gathering data on current Nashville-based business relationships and intelligence on top companies in the community that would be strong candidates for AICC assistance.
* Connecting with respected industry trade and technology associations in Nashville whose members could be candidates for business with Israeli companies.