7.16.2008 - 04:01pm ET

(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 16, 2008 - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) today announced the election of Sari Macrie, vice president of corporate relations for Allstate Insurance Company, to serve as board chairman and Akhtar Badshah, senior director of community affairs for Microsoft Corporation, to serve as vice chairman.

'The BCLC Board of Directors have elected two outstanding leaders to advance the organization's mission of helping business make a positive impact on society," said Arthur J. Rothkopf, senior vice president and counselor to the president of the U.S. Chamber and executive vice president of BCLC.

Macrie and Badshah were voted in on Monday, July 14. BCLC's 23-person board of directors oversees the organization’s overall strategic direction and four programs: business and society, corporate community investment, disaster assistance and recovery, and global corporate citizenship.

"I am honored to chair the Business Civic Leadership Center's Board of Directors," said Macrie. "BCLC is a leading organization in the increasingly important field of corporate social responsibility. Everyone on the board is committed to furthering BCLC’s mission and effectiveness."

Diverse chambers of commerce and business industries are represented on the board, including accounting, aerospace, financial services, information and communications technology, insurance, mining, oil and gas, and pharmaceuticals.

"As a global company, it is in Microsoft's best interest to see an increase in the effectiveness of business engagement in society," said Badshah. "BCLC strives to achieve just that, and I am proud to serve on its board."

BCLC is a not-for-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is the Chamber's voice and resource for the social and philanthropic interests of the business community. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region. www.uschamber.com/bclc

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Commitment to Transparency: This organization is committed to transparency and stakeholder dialogue and encourages your comments and feedback.

Post a comment below: Deborah Dunlap    2008-09-20 22:48:02 I understand Alstate was nominated for civic citizenship award. As a policy owner I believe I'm in an ideal sitituation to comment on this nomination. I was a Katrina victim I thought I was lucky no flooding just wind and rain damage. No flooding at all. In 2 years I had 7 adjuster who never had my file. It was always at the last adjusters desk or in storage. I had 10 years left on my morgage. I had to take a $40K SBA loan (just to make it liveable) out for 30 yrs I'm 54 yrs old. I was told to put calking in my window to hold the in place by an adjuster. I was hit by a tornado, there were cracks under windows and all exterior doors. I had a blue tarp as a front door for over 4 months Water pipes had small holes, both baths had to be completely gutted actually all rooms but 3 had to be gutted. Roof damage, screened porch destroyed, no window could be opened with out danger of falling out. Alstate paid approx $25k Oh I forgot to mention the CDC came out to examine my house b/c of the amount of mold and trips to the FEMA hospital. Good citizenship award are you joking. They actually hired someone to show them how not to pay claims during Katrina is that good citizenship, good business practices, or even morally acceptable. Please reconsider this nomination. *Your Comment: *Name: *E-mail (will not be displayed):   Notify me when others add comments to this discussion. Verification String (Six characters shown at left)