Next month, May 8-12, we will celebrate Economic Development Week. It is a hallmark week for our organization as we pride ourselves on being a driving force of economic development for our region.
In many ways, we have already started the celebration. If you follow our social media accounts, you may have seen that many of our governmental agencies from the city councils in Ames, Boone, Gilbert, Huxley, Nevada, and Ogden, as well as the board of supervisors for both Boone County and Story County, have passed proclamations acknowledging the week. Although the proclamations are in many ways symbolic, the work that these agencies and governmental leaders do is incredibly real. We have fantastic partners across the region.
Economic development includes programs, policies, and activities that improve the economic well-being and quality of life for a community. There are a lot of ways to measure economic development, but here are a few primary areas that we often think about as an organization:
- Business attraction and articulating why our region is the right place to locate.
- Workforce development initiatives to keep talented employees local.
- Finding ways to support entrepreneurship.
- Support community development and amenities that encourage people to live here.
- Business retention and expansion
That last point of business retention and expansion is key to the economic success of our region. A large part of job growth in any region is the result of businesses and companies growing and expanding.
As a result, we are excited to share that starting in July 2023, a new team member will be joining our organization who will be specifically tasked with this responsibility. Ottie Maxey will join the Ames Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Commission with a primary purpose to make business retention and expansion visits to companies in our region. The “official” announcement will come later this summer, and in the meantime, if you have questions, never hesitate to reach out to any member on our team. This growth in our organization is exciting as it will provide us more capacity to serve our members.
As I close, I want to thank you for your role in being an economic developer in our community. For business owners, each day that you open your doors, that is economic development to us. Each employee that you bring into your organization, that is economic development. If you are reading this as a community member, know that each time you spend money in our county, or recommend a business to a friend or family member, you are supporting economic development.
