Heeeeeeere's the Chamber!

Does Ann Goodnight have billionaire hubby and SAS founder Jim on an allowance?

Does Bev Perdue lie awake pondering becoming Gov during the Great Recession and whisper, "What was I thinking?!?"

These were but a few of the zingers Phil Zachary put to the powers-that-be at the annual meeting of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday night. Zachary runs Curtis Media, but he's a born entertainer. And he proved it by hosting a zippy, full-scale send-up of "The Tonight Show," complete with a spunky band, Chamber boss Harvey Schmitt as his chuckling sidekick and an A-list series of guests. Raleigh signature giant acorn, Jim Hunt, insurance companies, gamers – Zachary made good sport of them all while hitting the show out of the park.

Content-wise, in-coming Chamber Chair Sepi Asefnia promised to focus on jobs (medical devices got a shot out), education (diversity is a priority) and transportation. Sustainability also got a nod, a sentiment echoed by Perdue who noted, "green is gold."

All good, but the most reassuring element of the event was the show itself. A Chamber that can get this creative, fun and blessedly irreverent seems quite capable of craftily bringing home the bacon. Speaking of which, there was even a cameo by a pig named Grunt. "North Carolina's going to come out smelling like a rose," quipped Perdue in regards to the economy, "not a whole hog." This talk show will no doubt have people gabbing.