Choctaw Country Economic Growth Senior Supervisor Kreg Haney instructed members of the Poteau Rotary Club all through its weekly assembly Jan. 4 at Japanese Oklahoma Medical Middle not only his most important responsibility as an economic developer, but the 3 keys to achievement.
“An economic developer’s work is to attempt to retain and grow jobs, increase the excellent of existence for all citizens included and supply a stable tax foundation,” Haney stated. “I do get the job done for (the Choctaw Country), but in all actuality I do the job for the communities. You may find me in (Poteau Mayor) Scotty’s (White) place of work. You can expect to obtain me all more than the put to test to do what I can.”
The are three keys to economic improvement success, in accordance to Haney.
“The Worldwide Financial Progress Council describes my position as a three-legged stool for financial progress,” he reported. “You have enterprise attraction, small business retention and expansion and entrepreneurship. The analogy of the three-legged stool is you are not able to have a successful organization unless you have all 3 of these. So, we have to nurture our compact organizations to aid them improve and acquire treatment of businesses that are right here and attract organizations. We test to do that as very best as we can.”
When it arrives to business attraction, the Oklahoma Condition Division of Commerce lends a large hand.
“A lot of the things that we do the job on arrive from the Oklahoma Point out Department of Commerce,” Haney claimed. “A whole lot of moments what happens is a advisor that is symbolizing a enterprise is wanting to broaden in addition to relocation. Some of the companies manage that themselves but get to out instantly to the condition. The Condition of Oklahoma has a really superior procedure for economic improvement in comparison to other states. We have a portal that any metropolis, county, Tribal development, and so forth … that has economic developers can have obtain to that portal. They upload all the jobs and deliver them out, you can get on there and see all the jobs that are coming in. We present facts, and that is the initial stage. Once I get this, I mail it to my checklist (of contacts). For some, it may possibly be as small as a metropolis council member or another person in industrial progress or a council board member or a lender president. We send it (all the facts) to them. We speak about the unique properties they have, whether or not it is publicly owned or privately owned. Then, we try out to keep a seriously good bank of information on these. It’s not just info on authentic estate listings. It is really what form of sewer line is on the property, what excessive potential to the town to whoever delivers the drinking water and squander-water treatment and down to electrical. I fill out all this facts and send out it again to the State of Oklahoma — and we never ever hear just about anything once more until finally they phone us. Which is how financial growth goes. That firm or specialist will appear at it, and we fork out really close attention to what we send out out.”
The most exciting section of there a few aspects of economic improvement comes during the business enterprise retention and expansion stage.
“That is the pleasurable element,” Haney mentioned. “We commit a whole lot of time towards the finish of the yr going about to our present firms and industries. We are hunting for points that establish problems and what are the problems. We attempt to enable recognize and have what they need.”
A person point helping the entrepreneurship stage specials with trade reveals.
“A person of the matters we’ve recently started undertaking is a networking trade show event,” Haney said. “We variety of go in under the disguise of becoming Choctaw (Nation) tourism. We established up a Choctaw Nation tourism booth to promote to the 10-county location, but realistically the place there to get as a result of the doorway and talk to these providers that are there. They are really productive, and we have a great time at these.”
Haney is presently doing the job on a nearby project as a result of the Choctaw Nation Ecomonic Advancement.
“We do get web page visits,” he explained. “We have had quite a few in Poteau, exclusively the Tiger Truck constructing. Which is a big task of mine. When I first commenced, I mentioned I required to have any person in the very first of the calendar year of me operating (for Choctaw Nation Economic Progress). It didn’t perform in the to start with yr, but I think some good issues are coming. There is certainly been some firms hunting at it, so I think we have some potential there.
“We also have expert world-wide-web lookups. Which is where a marketing consultant may get in touch with me right. They’ve looked on our website, and they may know about Poteau. They came and visited, and they want (Choctaw Nation Economic Development) to answer. We want individuals consultants to preserve me in their back pockets. Each individual financial council you can feel of, we are there and doing what we can to let people today know who we are and that we’re right here to help. Occasionally which is the hard portion — just busting down that doorway.”
