b'The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) crisisthe closure of Charleston Naval Base in 1996changed the relationship between the local governments and the Chamber. With Air Force, Navy and Army bases here we were a military community, and everyone took that for granted. When we found out we were losing the naval base, it was a wake-up call. Considering the seven to eight thousand naval base employees, departing military, suppliers and other linked relationships, we knew we would lose 30,000 peopleat least. Instead of helping local businesses grow, we now had to bring new businesses to the region to create jobs. We feared small businesses would say, Oh my gosh, the base is gone, Im not going to make it. and start closing shop or laying people off. We had to calm the public and business community. Dont worryweve got a plan. Were going to get growth. Were going out after new business and new industry.Mayor Summey chaired the BEST (Building Economic Solutions Together) committee that was formed to determine what to do. The Chamber, in collaboration with area business and government leadership, created the Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA) to win new businesses to the area.A CHAMBER NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.In its heyday, the OF COMMERCE Charleston Naval Base was a sight to behold.Established in 1902, it served the nation through two World Wars and many regional conflicts, eventually becoming the Navys third-largest homeport behind San Diego and Norfolk, Va. For decades, Navy ships and submarines would slip into enormous dry docks for maintenance and repairs or would park themselves at one of the 21 piers that jut into a three-mile stretch of the Cooper River. Over the course of a century, thanks to the haphazard needs of the Navy, the 1,600-acre complex sprouted a jumble of 600 architecturally diverse buildings.Then, in 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission announced that Charleston would be its odd port out: The base would close by 1996. Though the news was not entirely unexpected, it rocketed through Charleston like a torpedo. 839 A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DAY'