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By ANGELA WEAVER
Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — Seven of the new staff members, who will be gracing the halls of various buildings in the district, gathered for lunch Friday morning. |
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Speaker gives county new keys |
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Friday, 12 September 2008 |
By WILLIAM LANEY
Staff Writer
WAPAKONETA — The author of a book on the keys to economic development warned of communities wanting to be bedroom communities and of the CAVE men in town.
Jack Schultz, author of “Boomtown USA: The 7 1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns,” spoke Thursday night to approximately 200 business and government people across the county about the steps to make any small town a boomtown.
“I hope they go away inspired and with a vision of what might be possible,” Schultz said after Thursday’s speech in the St. Joseph Parish Life Center in Wapakoneta. “I also hope they look at this idea of regionalism and how they might be able to do more by working together as a county than each trying to do something on their own.”
Schultz said he was encouraged by cooperation among the individual economic development groups — from the Wapakoneta Area Economic Development Council to the Industrial and Development Department in St. Marys — to create the Auglaize County Economic Development Coalition.
He said coalitions are becoming more prevalent “as people get beyond this single community thinking,” but he alerted people to weary of FNL syndrome.
He explained people In communities such as St. Marys and Wapakoneta and New Bremen and Minster, suffer from FNL syndrome which is Friday Night Lights syndrome created by competition between high school athletic teams.
Schultz said leaders in these towns have to learn to put aside their competitiveness and to get along on Monday morning because “so much more can be accomplished working together than by standing alone.”
Schultz shared his findings when examining the statistics of Auglaize County which show the county’s promise. Statistics show 35 percent of employment is in manufacturing, placing the county in the top 4 percent nationwide. he said the average household income is $48,000, which is the top 15 percent nationwide.
He said with new schools being built, added onto or renovated in New Knoxville, Minster, St. Marys, Wapakoneta and Waynesfield, that the people in Auglaize County understand the importance of education.
Business executives looking to locate a plant or jobs in a region evaluate a region’s attitude about education and the school system.
“Looking at the attributes of this county, I think your schools and the fact you have all new schools and your manufacturing base is a huge advantage,” Schultz said. “I love the idea that you have so many family-owned and entrepreneurial businesses in the community, and then there is your quality of life with your trails, your recreational opportunities are an advantage.”
He said creating a better education system and developing a strong quality of life is crucial in driving the entrepreneurial spirit and enticing members of the next generation — the Millenials — to return home.
“The thing that really excites me is this next generation of kids,” Schultz told the crowd. “The next generation will be a very special generation, it is called the Millenial generation and it is people between the ages of 10 and 27.
“This will be the most entrepreneurial generation in the history of the United States,” he said. “This generation is already being compared to the generation of the 1880s, the generation which transformed the United States from a Third World country into a world power — something we have never looked back on.”
As he explained each key in his paradigm, Schultz provided examples of those keys working in places such as Leavenworth, Wash., Tupelo, Miss., Branson, Mo. and Urbana.
One came with a warning. He warned government officials and business leaders about a region’s or city’s CAVE men. He said people must learn to maintain their vision of their community and stand up against these CAVE men, which stands for “Citizens Against Virtually Everything.”
Schultz also provided statistics encouraging communities to attract businesses and to rail against being a bedroom community. He showed a chart from the American Farmland Trust that indicates for every $1 of property tax paid through residential property that a community provides $1.17 in services, while commercial and industry receives 27 cents in services.
Statistics from the Illinois Chamber of Commerce showed for every 100 new manufacturing jobs, 415 additional jobs are created, $12.7 million in personal income each year is created, $7.7 million more in retail sales, $540,000 in tax revenue and $2 million more in service revenue.
“This is why it is a loser’s game to be just a bedroom community,” Schultz said. “Places have taken mattresses and burned them in their town squares to show they can no longer afford to be just a bedroom community.
“If someone comes in and builds a $5 million manufacturing facility in Wapakoneta and they receive a 10-year tax abatement, the taxing body will receive nothing for the first 10 years, but the taxing bodies will gain everything back by the 13th year,” Schultz said.
Schultz said the area’s low unemployment rate should not scare away potential employers because people will move to where the jobs are.
He also noted the drive for economic development must continue despite low unemployment.
“The thing is you cannot stop economic development because at some point an industry that is a great industry will not be so great, so if you are not constantly working on economic development then eventually you will see things leave,” Schultz said. “Business is constantly renewing itself, so you have to be in that entrepreneurial and economic development mindset all the time.”
Box:
The 7 1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns
1. Adopt a “Can Do” Attitude
2. Shape Your Vision
3. Leverage Your Resources
4. Raise Up Strong Leaders
5. Encourage an Entrepreneurial Approach
6. Maintain Local Control
7. Build Your Brand
7 1/2. Embrace the Teeter-Tooter Factor |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 September 2008 )
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