Regional Economic Development Efforts

What is economic development? And what do the monies we put forward for economic development do for our community?

These are the leading questions put to business people and public officials charged with developing and managing our local economy.

The Basic Recipe

For the community as a whole, economic development is about delivering more jobs, better jobs, higher wages and diverse companies to share the tax load while at the same time providing a more stable economy. For business people, it's about creating and maintaining a healthy, friendly, profitable environment in which to operate. For residents, it's about improving the standard of living as well as the quality of life in Southwest Florida.

The question now is: How are we doing?

One Soup Pot--Many Chefs

Sheer statistics--the increasing number of companies choosing to make Southwest Florida their permanent home, the record volume of new jobs, the slowly climbing average wage, unprecedented funding backing these goals--provide the story line. It's a fairly impressive story.

Repeated national ranking of Southwest Florida in recent years as one of the country's best places to live, work and play proves a convincing backdrop. Now, a complex cast of characters is engaged in active dialogue, bringing the story to life.

"Our mission is to be America's newest business destination," says Janet Watermeier, executive director of Lee County's Economic Development Office (EDO)

"Currently, the key issue is being able to provide the qualified workforce employers are looking for," says Susan Pareigis, Watermeier's counterpart at the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Collier County.

"We must have a strong private/public partnership to achieve anything meaningful and sustainable, in terms of attracting, retaining and expanding businesses," adds John Passidomo, immediate past chair of Collier's EDC.

"Economic development boils down to two measurable goals," declares Frank D'Alessandro, 1997 chair of the 55-member Horizon Council private/public partnership. "One, diversify the local economy, so that we're less dependent on a few industries and less vulnerable to economic fluctuations. Two, encourage the formation of high-wage jobs." High wage jobs are 115 percent of the average hourly wage, or $12 to $13 per hour and up, raising the average annual salary from $22,000 to $23,000 up to $25,000 to 27,000.

John Anderson, president and CEO of Enterprise Florida, the partnership of business, government and education leaders responsible for state economic development, concludes that the state of Florida is already a major economic region. "If Florida were an independent nation-state, we would be the fifth-largest economy in the western hemisphere, the sixteenth largest in the world. And we can be a larger player in the future than we are today," he says.

A fundamental role of economic development leaders is defining a vision for their individual and collective communities and committing to make that vision work. That means taking a realistic look at deficiencies as well as strengths. It means making hard choices in allocating finite resources.

Admittedly, it's a monumental task. All agree that the only way to digest it is "one bite at a time." Melding inter-regional and state objectives and tactics is paramount.

Meaty Cooperation

Lee County's forward-looking Horizon Council, established in 1991, is doing much to alleviate fragmentation and redundancy among industry, city and county agendas.

"The Horizon Council puts us all on the same page," says Watermeier.

Council members agree that staying focused on common issues, working together as a region, is the best way to give Southwest Florida competitive advantage. That's no mean feat for participants as disparate as chambers of commerce, the school district, city councils, the port authority, retired executives, the community college and university, industry associations and the workforce council.

Horizon Council members began by working closely with the Lee County EDO in advising county officials on economic development issues. Formation of the Southwest Florida Regional Economic Coalition in 1995 represented a milestone as Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties began moving from a stance of competition to cooperation. Coalition members from county economic development offices as well as key regional organizations have targeted several areas of collaboration.

The Changing Workforce

Workforce education is the current hot potato. "We surveyed the business community to determine present and projected workforce needs," says Joe Paterno, executive director of Southwest Florida Workforce Development Inc. "New cooperative training programs now under way will give us a constant flow of skilled talent in three to five years. We're educating the next generation for the workplace."

Seven one-stop career centers slated for five-county operation in 1999 will go a long way in "making a dent" in updating and upgrading local labor skills. Computer, business communications, technical and management skills top the list.

"Southwest Florida must demonstrate to prospective high-wage employers that we are willing, ready and able to provide a platform for skilled job training," says Dick Botthof, 1997-98 chair of the Collier County EDC. A complimentary EDO effort is currently assessing the skills, willingness to work and availability of the retirement community.

The New Player

Florida Gulf Coast University's (FGCU) Center for Leadership and Innovation is another recent rallying point. The Center's mission is to strengthen the area's economic health by serving as an easy access point to national, state, regional and university resources for local business people.

According to Marina Onken, Ph.D., assistant professor of business management at FGCU, the 35-strong business faculty thrive on staying involved in the area's business milieu. She sees the Center for Leadership and Innovation as a clearinghouse for networking nationally, across industries, using faculty corporate experience, research and contacts.

"Most U.S. economic growth is in small companies, regardless of geography, and that's where we work. The opportunity to grow with this region through Center programs and consulting jobs is what drew many of us to Southwest Florida," says Onken.

"University executive programs are designed to help keep business people cutting-edge while keeping university faculty in touch with developments in the business community," elaborates Dick Pegnetter, Dean of FGCU's Business College.

Supporting Development

State-of-the-art regional infrastructure also plays a major role in qualifying Southwest Florida as a desirable business destination. An expanding international airport with local customs clearing service and an associated foreign trade zone opens doors to new markets. The Midpoint Bridge east-west corridor plugs outlying nei