Econ Dev Show Podcast - Economic Development

In this action-packed episode of the Econ Dev Show, host Dane Carlson talks with Mark Litten, VP of Economic Development at Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, about his transition from basketball officiating to empowering small communities. Mark shares insights on local-level involvement, the importance of marketing for smaller communities, and the potential impact of eliminating Enterprise Florida. Tune in to "Slam Dunk Economic Development Strategies" and discover how Mark Litten's basketball experience informs his transformative approach to local economic development. In the latest episode of the Econ Dev Show, host Dane Carlson welcomes Mark Litten, Vice President of Economic Development at the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce in Palatka, Florida. Mark shares his journey into economic development, starting with his roots in Ohio and Michigan before transitioning to Florida. The conversation also touches on the challenges of attracting businesses and Mark's experience as a retired basketball official. Highlighting the importance of bringing young people into economic development, Mark emphasizes the need for extroverted individuals with strong communication skills. Mark also discusses his preference for working in the private or non-profit sectors rather than the government. He believes there is more freedom and involvement in the local level as opposed to the state level. At the local level, they work with everything from site visits to negotiating prices, whereas at the state level, they are more focused on incentives. He also mentions the importance of marketing, especially for smaller communities. Due to limited budgets, small communities often have to raise funds to be competitive in marketing. Economic development focused magazines such as Site Selection, Business Facilities, and Area Development are popular places to advertise, reaching a wide readership of C-Suite individuals. However, frequent ad placements and online advertising can be costly for smaller communities. In Florida, there is a current discussion about eliminating Enterprise Florida and changing Visit Florida's tourism funding. The economic development director feels that it is shortsighted by the legislature and will create problems for attracting businesses. With the potential elimination of Enterprise Florida, he believes that there will be a shift in how leads are handled, and it will be a learning curve for many people. In response, he is increasing marketing efforts and planning to develop strategies to compete with other micropolitan communities. This insightful episode of the Econ Dev Show provides valuable perspectives on economic development and marketing challenges, particularly for smaller communities. Mark Litten's wealth of experience and forward-thinking approach offer essential guidance for those looking to navigate the changing landscape of economic development. As the conversation delves into critical topics such as attracting businesses, engaging young professionals, and the importance of strategic marketing, listeners are sure to benefit from the knowledge shared by both Mark and host Dane Carlson. Don't miss out on this fascinating conversation -- tune in to the latest episode of the Econ Dev Show to hear Mark Litten's invaluable insights and practical advice. Listen now, and stay ahead in the world of economic development. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Mark Litten.

In this episode, Dane talks with Professor Todd Gabe. He is a professor of Economics at the University of Maine, author of the textbook, The Pursuit of Economic Development: Growing Good Jobs in U.S. Cities and States. He also publishes content from his classes, book, and other research on YouTube. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps!

In this episode, Dane talks with David Thornell, the author of Small Town Solutions: An Economic Development Guide for Small Communities with BIG Dreams, and founder of Small Town Solutions Consulting. He retired after 40+ years of service to community and economic development organizations mainly in rural environments, and now provides specialized consulting. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: David Thornell.

Nationally, outdoor recreation is a $788 billion dollar industry, accounting for 2.1% of U.S. GDP and 5.2 million jobs in 2019. In North Carolina, the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2 percent ($12.1 billion) of the state GDP and created 151,661 jobs in the state. Thomas Salley, the director of tourism for the City of Wilkesboro, North Carolina knows this all too well. He's an integral part of a team working to create a community-led vision and 15-year roadmap to grow the outdoor economy and encourage active living in Wilkes County. The group is focusing on the planning and development of outdoor recreation infrastructure projects such as trails, greenways, destination-quality parks, attractive downtowns, and the creation of multi-use public spaces suitable for major events and festivals. These projects contribute significantly to the quality of life for local residents, help grow small businesses, and attract visitors. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Thomas Salley.

Dane wants to start producing video content for the Econ Dev Show Podcast, but first, he must get comfortable on camera. And the best way that he's found to get over his fear of almost anything is to just do it! Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps!

In this episode, Dane talks to Tom Wengler. In just 20 minutes, they explain how the best economic development marketing teams stay in front of site selectors and business executives who've visited their websites. Tom explains how to stay top of mind with these people to get more leads. Plus, you'll learn how advertisers target you with ads too. You can use this knowledge as part of your Business Attraction Strategy! Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Tom Wengler.

In this episode, Dane talks with Cody Morrison about childcare as an economic development priority. Cody is the Executive Director of the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation in Keene, New Hampshire. The MEDC has taken a leading role in working to improve the number of childcare providers in their region. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Cody Morrison.

Last week, Wendy Rosen wrote an open letter to President Biden calling on the federal government to help rebuild Made in America. Her letter "Dear President Biden, Rebuild Made in America," struck a cord with Dane, and he brought her on the show to talk about it, and her experiences and insight. Wendy Rosen is the founder of the American Made Show, the national trade show for American made products. At it's height the show featured 1,600 exhibiting artisans and hosted more than 10,000 retail buyers who ordered more than $40 million at each show in Philadelphia. Realizing that artists desperately needed business education, Rosen founded the Arts Business Institute and taught workshops in more than 35 states. As one of the first in the field of "arts economic development," she transformed an abandoned civil war era cotton mill into the Mill Centre Artist Studios. Rosen's AmericanStyle magazine published an annual list of America's Top Arts Destinations. The sector grew to contribute 14B annually to the GDP but lost 70% of it's small businesses after 2009 when small businesses lost seasonal credit lines in the wake of the banking crisis and closure of community banks. Rosen now provides affordable growth planning services for arts organizations and creative communities. After Richard Florida gives you an assessment or asset inventory, she's the person to give you an affordable plan of action. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Wendy Rosen.

In this episode, Dane talks with Martin Vanags. According to Martin, climate change is the single biggest challenge we face as humans... however it can also be the single greatest opportunity for economic developers to reframe their attraction, retention and workforce strategies for a positive outcome. What will it take to change the narrative and reframe the question for ED professionals so that can have successful outcomes? Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Martin Vanags.

Colin Holloway is the Economic Development and Communications Officer for the town of Clarenville in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Town of Clarenville is a regional service hub which provides government and retail services to a broader regional population of 35,000 residents. The town has a multitude of local assets which, with the right marketing and exposure, can draw visitors and, more importantly, encourage them to stay longer. Taking a regional approach to tourism enhancement, through the Strategic Tourism Enhancement Program, provides a medium by which businesses and community stakeholders can become involved in economic development. This 11-month stakeholder engagement process will include the development of a Strategic Tourism Plan which the community can embrace and help guide future developments/investments in the area. In his new role as the Economic Development Officer, his overall goal is to work with the business community and key stakeholders to develop Clarenville as a Tourism Destination. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Colin Holloway.

W Ford Graham is an expert on investment from Europe into the United States. In this episode, we pick his brain on this timely geopolitical economic development topic. Unfortunately, Ford's audio isn't great in some parts. (This was totally my fault!) But the episode is so relavent that I didn't want you to miss it. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: W Ford Graham.

Joe Sayre has only been an economic developer for about six months, but he's found the profession a marriage of all that he's done before and his love for community service. He's worked in a variety of jobs and industries... from accounting in the semi-conductor world, to recruiting in higher education, to business development for a mobile sports wagering platform provider. At the same time, he's also been extremely active in his community and has worked to better it through community/economic development. This includes founding an organization focused on the retention of college students. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Joe Sayre.

In this episode, Dane talks business attraction with Lenora Fisher, the Director of Business Attraction at Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Lenora Fisher.

In this episode, Dane talks to himself about site RFIs, and why we don't figure them out in advance? Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps!

In this episode, Dane talks with Chanell Hasty about the IEDC's 2023 Equity in Economic Development Fellowship Program. In summer 2023, the International Economic Development Council is hosting a second cohort of their Equity in Economic Development Fellowship Program. If you're an EDO, and would like to participate in this 8-week program to host an Equity in Economic Development Fellow between June 5th and August 4th of 2023, please apply. The deadline was recently extended to December 16, 2022. For more information, please see the links below.Special Guest: Chanell Hasty.

Steve Fletcher is the Director of Economic Development at Lowcountry Local First. There he works to advance economic prosperity and local ownership through innovative and inclusive initiatives that build our community’s wealth and wellbeing. Dane talks with him about how shopping local is more than just a holiday initiative. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Steve Fletcher.

In this episode, Dane talks about how to supercharge your economic development with a podcast. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps!

In this episode, Dane talks with Richard Cornelison, Director of Regional Growth and Economic Development for Cleco. Cleco is a regional utility company in Louisana. Richard is the right guy for the job. He's been in utility economic development for nearly 27 years. Utilities are often the primary driver of economic development in many communities. They are often the chief funder but can also bring several technical resources, including GIS, data, etc. But in 2022, their role is evolving. What communities and state departments of commerce need is not just help to answer RFPs. In this episode, Richard, brings his years of utility ED experience to bear and describes the future. (Sorry for the audio quality. We had some technical issues on my side. I accidentally recorded the audio from my Airpods instead of my mic.) Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Richard Cornelison.

In this episode, Dane talks with Chris Setti, the CEO of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. The GPEDC is both a planning agency and a traditional ED practitioner. They are the official steward of the Greater Peoria Economic Development District on behalf of the US EDA, and are responsible for the creation and stewardship of the regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. They are also tasked with all the traditional ED activities like business attraction, BRE, startup, etc. In almost every other place, the "planning" function would be done by a regional planning commission or council of government and the "working" function done by an 501c6/c3 EDO. They get to do both, and it is very cool. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Chris Setti.

In this episode, Dane talks with Jenny Poon about HUUB, a digital resource platform for economic developers to better serve and engage with their small business community. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Jenny Poon.

In this episode, Dane talks with talks with Clint Knight and Sandy Messner. In 2022, the Richland Area Chamber tackled Workforce Development from a unique angle. They'd spent years working to integrate upskilling opportunities and education in the effort, and realized that there was a gap in the process. They identified that gap - in their community - as "awareness". They've taken on a large scale marketing strategy to attack that challenge head on. By utilizing opportunities for project based learning, multimedia content, and targeted social media strategies - they are backing the truck up, and working to make sure that stakeholders and active players are aware of the resources and opportunities that are available to them. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guests: Clint Knight and Sandy Messner.

In this episode, Scott Graves talks about how investing in creating housing density across a wide a socioeconomic spectrum can build better places. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Scott Graves.

If you want to see BR&E program that consists of more than just being a connector of information and contacts for your businesses, this is the episode for you. In tis episode, Jana Sanchez walks us through the ins and outs of the Business Accelerator Services of Estes (BASE) Program at the Estes Park EDC. The BASE Program is a 6-month intensive dive into building and growing your business, helping leaders in three core areas - Leadership, Operations, and Innovation. According to Jana, existing businesses need executive education in order to grow and expand. This should be an essential function of your business retention and expansion programs. Her accelerator is comprehensive executive education that is helping her mountain tourist town's businesses to expand. But not just that – her program can show positive , concrete results that help the EDC be better understood in the community, and raise more money. The episode is full of great insights, and success stories from Estes Park. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Jana Sanchez.

Greg Lowe is the Economic Development Director in Lewisburg, Tennessee. His workforce development program doesn't start in trade school or junior college. It starts in third grade. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Greg Lowe.

Thomas Salley is the Director of the Wilkesboro Tourism Development Authority. He is passionate about rural development, hospitality and tourism, and it shows. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Thomas Salley.

Mark Barbash has been in economic development since 1981. Today, he spends a lot of time trying to improve the profession, bring more young people into the economic development, and figuring out how to grow the profession for the future. Mark is currently the founder and Director of the Ohio Economic Development Institute, the professional development program for the Ohio Economic Development Association. The Institute provides education and training in both basic and intensive economic and community development. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Mark Barbash.

As economic developers, we can be guilty of deciding what our community should be and then telling everyone to get busy. According to John Lynn with cela Innovation, another model is to create and provide the tools necessary for our communities to figure out where they see opportunities in the market and then support them as they develop profitable solutions. Regional startup accelerators can fulfill that role and help our communities develop post-pandemic resilient economies. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: John Lynn.

Amanda Beadles absolutely loves the small town of Chillicothe, Illinois. That's good because she's their local economic developer, and small town econ dev can be difficult without the right mental attitude. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Amanda Beadles.

Dane talks with Amanda Ellis, Editor in Chief of Livability.com, about marketing your community for economic development and talent attraction. Amanda hosts the Inside America’s Best Cities podcast, writes the Let’s Talk Talent newsletter. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Amanda Ellis.

Paul DiGiuseppe still considers himself a newcomer to economic development, but Paul has an incredible, contagious, passion for the industry. Now the Director of Economic and Community Development at the Town of Middleborough, Massachusetts, he started in the industry four years ago, in a different small town, with no experience in economic development, but with 25 years of city planning in a variety of cities across the county. About a year and a half into his job, he realized that he didn't understand and know enough about econ dev. And then COVID hit. He was totally unprepared and wasn't ready to help his local businesses struggling to keep their doors open. While receiving COVID funding information from the state and feds, he had no good way of communicating with his businesses. This kept him up at night. Finally, with the help of many people both inside the town and out, as well as podcasts, websites, books, etc., he grew to better understand his role in economic development. As a result, today, he's more focused than ever. He spends his days connecting with his business community and doing business attraction. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Paul DiGiuseppe.

In this short snippet of an episode Dane talks with Paul DiGiuseppe, who explains what to do in your first 90 days on the job. Paul is the is the Director of Economic and Community Development at Town of Middleborough, Massachusetts. This is part one of Dane's conversation with Paul. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Paul DiGiuseppe.

This is part two of conversation with J.R. Charles. In this episode, J.R. shares his incredible war story and explains the nobility of the economic development profession. J.R. explains: One of my biggest projects came when I was informed about a looming bankruptcy for one of our manufactuers (I'd like to keep the companies anonymous). Rather than let the company liquidate, I worked with the facility's manager to identify another company which bought out that insolvent manufacturer. The new company acquired the insolvent company on Feb 14, 2020 (we called it the best Valentine's present our community could recieve), and one month later, COVID hit and my wife and I welcomed our son into the world. I worked with the new company's corporate and legal team via weekly zoom meetings to negotiate the incentive deal; at the same time, I kept our elected officials informed as they were dealing with quarantine protocols, face mask orders, and public health initiatives. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: J.R. Charles.

In this episode, we play the first part of a conversation between Dane and J.R. Charles, the Community Development Director for the City of Mauldin, South Carolina. In their wide-ranging conversation, J.R. explains how to best take advantage of memberships in state and regional associations. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: J.R. Charles.

Beka Burton recently failed her CEcD exam, and she's here to talk about it. She doesn't think about it as failing. She just found a way that didn't work. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Beka Burton.

Dane talks with Kevin Leighty, Economic Development Director in the Village of Oswego, Illinois. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Kevin Leighty.

In this episode, Dane talks with Steve Griffin of Finger Lakes EDC. Steve's rural New York community has gone from a sleepy little community to leading their metro region by percentage growth in nearly every single economic category in the last 15 years. Here's how he did it. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Steve Griffin.

Economic development consultant Andy Portera answers the question: When you're brought into a community, what do you advise them to do first. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Andy Portera.

Chad Newell serves as President of the Area Development Partnership (ADP) in Hattiesburg, MS, a position he has held since December 2009. The ADP is the regional chamber of commerce and economic development organization for Greater Hattiesburg, MS. He recently co-authored the book The Journey: Successful Strategies and Techniques for Economic Developers. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Chad Newell.

In this episode, Dane talks with Nathan Ohle. He currently serves as the President & CEO of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization serving economic developers, with more than 5,000 members globally. According to Nathan, "The economic development field is changing, and IEDC will continue to play a leadership role in driving equitable economic outcomes." Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Nathan Ohle.

Last week the IEDC published the program for their 2022 Annual Conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma September 18-21. Since for some of you this might be the first conference you've attended in person since 2019, I thought it might be an excellent opportunity to share my "rules for conferences". Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps!

In this episode, Dane talks with Darren Stauffer. Darren spent four years at the Arlington Economic Development, and now he's in Europe working with Dealroom.co, a venture-backed global data platform for intelligence on startups, innovation, high-growth companies, ecosystems and investment strategies. According to Darren, the tide for economic developers has shifted, and tech ecosystems are truly everywhere. The days of 'we want to be the Silicon Valley of ...' are gone. Every city and region has a story to tell, and the geographic landscape of what can be a tech hub has shifted over the past several years. Understanding this growth while fostering it is going to be more and more important for all types of cities. Because data is powerful. It doesn't matter where your city or region is on the development of their tech ecosystem - data can and does inform decisions and having the right data to help tell your story is important. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps!Special Guest: Darren Stauffer.

In this episode Dane talks with Mark Gustavson and Marlene McTigue of KathodeRay Media about their success stories in rural economic development digital marketing. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your name or Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!Special Guests: Mark Gustavson and Marlene McTigue.

Dane Carlson talks to Carrie Kelly, the Executive Director of the Arizona Association for Economic Development. They discuss: The economic development landscape in Arizona Is Carrie an economic developer or an executive of a membership organization The economic development stars in Arizona Mentors and mentorships How Carrie wants to make BR&E sexy Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your name or Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!Special Guest: Carrie Kelly.

Has this happened to you: Do you find it difficult to explain your job to your family, friends, and even your professional contacts? According to Melissa Meschke, Economic Development Outreach Manager for the Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin, the interesting thing about Economic Development is hard to difficult it is to describe economic developers do. Her response: Use plain language! She recently earned a Plain Language Certificate through UW-Madison. The experience was eye-opening for her and has helped her to hone in her networking and written communication. In this episode we discuss this, networking, and Melissa's favorite book: How to be a Power Connector by Judy Robinett Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your name or Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!Special Guest: Melissa Meschke.

How do you merge a Chamber of Commerce and an Economic Development Organization? Today we talk to Andy Sokolovich about his experience doing just this in Clinton, Iowa. With the overwhelming support of the membership, investors, and Board of Directors, the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce and Clinton Regional Development Corporation have approved a merger — creating a single entity known as Grow Clinton. The combined organization will focus on tourism, economic and community development. How did the merger come about? How did it work? What about the staff? In this episode, we talk through all this, and more. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your name or Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!Special Guest: Andy Sokolovich.

In this episode, we get geeky. Dane quickly explains his podcasting setup. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your name or Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

In this episode, Dane talks downtowns with Jenn Gregory and Elliott Cook, both on the Downtown Strategies team at Retail Strategies. Every community in America, of any size or population, can revitalize or create a downtown. According to the Jenn and Elliott, placemaking comes in all shapes and sizes. They encourage you to start small and build on that success! In this episode, Dane talks downtowns with Jenn Gregory and Elliott Cook. Jenn and Elliott are both on the Downtown Strategies team at Retail Strategies. Every community in America, of any size or population, can revitalize or create a downtown. According to the Jenn and Elliott, placemaking comes in all shapes and sizes. They encourage you to start small and build on that success! Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your name or Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!Special Guests: Elliott Cook and Jenn Gregory.

Dane talks to Sarah Thompson about rolling up your sleeves and figuring out a new path if your rural community needs help. According to Sarah, there is nothing that can stop those who truly want a better future for their downtown and community. It takes hard work and committed volunteers. Special Guest: Sarah Thompson.

In this episode, Dane talks with Jim Searcy, executive director of the Economic Development Association of Alabama. Special Guest: Jim Searcy.

In this episode, Dane talks with Alejandra Castillo, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and the head of the Economic Development Administration. We discuss: Ms. Castillo's background and how she became the country's chief economic developer The Economic Development Administration and the US Commerce Department The Build Back Better Regional Challenge Supply chains Worker training and workforce development Regional, cluster-based, and place-based economic development Infastructure Building capacity at the local level Recovery and resiliency in your local community Making your community more competitive globally Collaboration in economic development, and who the EDA collaborates What the EDA is doing to promote diversity, equity and inclusion Special Guest: Alejandra Castillo.