Greetings and welcome to Friday! It’ll be hot inland so I bet we’ll have a foggy weekend!
**NOTE** We have an important survey for you to take:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N7DHDMT
(link is also in the ROI update below)
Here’s our staff update for the week:
Blue Economy::
This week, Mark Farley and I had one of our regular “catch up and brainstorm” meetings at Hatfield. I also had several conversations about Oregon Seaweed – they are the dulce aquaculture company – who are again kicking the tires about possibly building a Newport facility. I’ve got more questions than answers, but certainly want to find out more. I also had a meeting today with Evan Hall (Rondy’s, Inc.) on the progress of their building project (storage and potential incubator space) on McLean point. Their permits are in hand and they are moving dirt – construction should begin in earnest next February or March. – Paul
Broadband::
I’m heading out just after I wrap up this update to meet with Lisa Norton (CTSI “broadband guru in training”) to talk broadband projects. Next week are our monthly BAT and regional meetings, so I’ll have more to report then. – Paul
Creative Economies::
For ART Toledo this week, I worked on the Art, Oysters & Brews and Chalk the block video and attended the meeting Thursday morning. – Sarah
Events::
I attended the first presentation of the Career Connected Learning series, which is a new program where Waldport High School students can come learn about different career paths and opportunities from industry leaders and OCCC during their lunch break in our office building. Paul and I toured some potential locations for the economic summit on Thursday. – Sarah
Organizational Development::
Early next week, we’ll be sending out EDALC membership invoices to many of our wonderful directors (Paula – you received yours this week). Folks who don’t get the invoices from me are on my short list to contact first – I have a few questions and clarifications. This round, payments can be by check or online via CC – Sarah even created a QR code for easy “click and go!” Thanks so much for your hard work and support of this wonderful organization! – Paul
Project Work::
I updated the opportunities for entrepreneurs slider on the EDALC website, helped an Astound employee install new phones in our office, and worked on putting together the minutes from September’s board meeting. I also updated Oregon Prospector listings, updated the investors section of our website and worked on the ROI potential projects survey. – Sarah
Rural Opportunity Initiative::
Late this week, the ROI application process opened up – with a due date of 10/27/23. I feel we are WAY ahead compared to the last round (which gave us only two week to prep the application). Next work, we’ll reach out for some preliminary commitments for letters of support. Our main discussion item during last week’s board meeting was potential ROI projects – Sarah and I have revised and organized the list and she created a survey – would you please take a few moments to rate the project areas and priorities (and offer any comments) – it’ll be a HUGE help to us as we prep to submit our application! Here’s the link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N7DHDMT
Supporting and Connecting with Partners::
OCCC – Last weekend, I trekked to Salem (at the AMAZING Chemeketa Eola center facility) for OCCC Board of Education training. It was a great training, but I also got to meet key folks from the Oregon Community College Association as well as numerous college presidents – connections that should be very helpful in our regional “blue” work. – Paul
Toledo/GP – As I’m sure you know, on Monday, the Toledo Georgia Pacific plant suffered a fire in one of their dryer facilities. One of the least-fun but most essential support services an economic developer can offer is boots on the ground triage when an event like this might lead to permanent or temporary worker displacement. First thing Monday morning, I connected with Heather DeSart and we were both “on alert” should the fire impact GP’s workforce. Thankfully, that was not the case, and we did receive a nice thank-you from GP for being ready, willing and able to support them – Paul
Umpqua Bank – This week, Michael Smith and I had a working lunch with Marc Steinbaugh (also Umpqua). It was a pleasure to talk to Marc about our organization and to learn more about Umpqua’s business resources for small businesses (and nonprofits as well) – Thanks for making that happen Michael!
As a reminder – your Board of Directors resource page is here:
On Wednesday, Susan and I had a chance to attend the wonderful Hatfield dedication ceremony for the Gladys Valley Marine Studies building. High five and a hearty “Huzzah!” to Bob and his team for shepherding this amazing building from concept to dedication – we are SO fortunate to have this resource in our coastal community!
Thanks for ALL that you are doing out there! Please reach out to me if you need anything at all. Have a wonderful weekend!
Cheers,
-Paul 🙂