Celebrating Economic Development Week
Posted by Lake Superior Community Partnership on May 9, 2016
Happy Economic Development week! The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) (who is celebrating their 90th anniversary this year!) has declared May 8-14 a week to celebrate achievements within the economic development profession. The IEDC is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization serving economic developers. With more than 4,500 members, IEDC is the largest organization of its kind. I am a board member and co-chair of their Economic Development Research Partners program. Locally, we are celebrating this week in a few ways. You may have seen me on the Ryan Report yesterday talking about economic development, Empire Mine effects and the recent Ambassadors trip. And this Saturday, May 14 I will be on Media Meet along with VP of Economic Development, Caralee Swanberg, Menominee Business Development Corporation Director, Nancy Douglas and CUPPAD Executive Director, Joel Schultz. Over the course of the week we will share just a few economic development highlights on our social media accounts, but I wanted to give you a sneak peak in today’s column.
Let’s start at the beginning with the closing of the air force base in 1995. The Lake Superior Jobs Coalition (now the LSCP) was called to action to work with the community to try and save the base. Although unsuccessful, it was through this collaboration that the group realized it needed to continue working together to move Marquette County past the closure and toward redevelopment. In 1997, the LSCP was officially formed and will celebrate our 20th year anniversary next year!
In the early 2000s, the LSCP Foundation teamed up with NMU and industry partners across the U.P. to create the Midwest Skills Development Center. The center is home to the Electrical Line Technician Program who graduated their first class in 2004. This program prepares students to install, maintain and operate electrical systems to supply electric energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The demand for young people in this vocation is high throughout the U.P. and the country. We are very proud of this program that helps to fill employer’s immediate needs.
We work with many clients each year and achieved a new record meeting with 464 clients last year. One client we’ve worked with since their inception is CrossFit 906 in Ishpeming. Our business development team believes in “life cycle” economic development, in other words, being a part of the company’s team from the very beginning. In this case we have assisted with their business plan and activities around their three expansions. We are proud to be a part of their family and they know we are always here to assist as needed.
This is a sample of some of the stories we will share throughout the week.
A common question we are asked is “what is an economic developer?” Economic developers are charged with generating economic growth, creating better jobs for residents and facilitating an improved quality of life. The industry remains as complex, challenging and rewarding as ever. I got into economic development by accident. I spent many years as a Chamber of Commerce board member and even President. I had always said I would love to get paid for the work I so much enjoyed doing as a volunteer. When the LSCP was formed, I was hired as their first employee. Caralee and I are both Certified Economic Developers (CEcD) through the IEDC and our organization is an Accredited Economic Development Organization, the only one in the U.P. and one of three statewide.
Interested in learning more about economic development? On May 18 at 10 a.m. I will be hosting a webinar, Economic Development 411. Learn how economic development impacts our community, gain a better understanding of business attraction, entrepreneurship and retention/expansion of businesses as well as resources available. Visit www.marquette.org to register.
Amy Clickner, CEO, writes a bi-weekly column for the Mining Journal.
