Otsego Now has a new Chairman, as you may already know. In addition to all the other things does well, Devin Morgan is also adept at using technology to communicate. He recently posted to his own blog at 3Blazes about his new position and why it, and this organization, matter to the community. So, now that the staff here at Otsego Now have given you our perspective on our new Chairman, take a look at what the Chairman has to say:

On March 3, 2016 I was named Chairman of the Board of Otsego Now, which really means jointly chairing the boards of the County of Otsego Industrial Development Agency (COIDA) and Otsego County Capital Resource Corporation (OCCRC). Otsego Now is probably the most effective economic development resource in Otsego County, based on the tax incentive and bonding tools at its disposal, as well as the property, money, professional staff, and engaged board that are all focused on making the county a better place to work and live. Otsego Now Board Chair sounds impressive, but most people don’t realize that it is an unpaid position that never makes everyone happy and, more often, just draws criticism and occasional outrage. Here’s a Daily Star article and a press release. So, why am I doing it?

Economic Development Matters

I have been working with Economic Development folks since I first got involved with business incubators back on 2000. At the time, I was just interested in finding early stage technology companies that might need legal services. But as I got to know economic development professionals, attend their conferences and events, and really understand what they were up to, I was amazed. It is difficult and largely thankless work. Economic development folks know that when they do things right, the money will go to private companies and local governments and the accolades will go to politicians. But when things go wrong, it will be all their fault. They tend to be among the most selfless, hopeful, and helpful people I’ve met, and the really good ones are also incredibly practical, grounded, and relentless. It’s one thing to envision a brighter future, it’s quite another to figure out how it’s going to get done, bring people together to do it, and figure out who’s going to pay for it (and bear the risk of failure).

So, what are these people actually doing? In my experience, economic development is focused on creating and retaining jobs. Beyond that, it comes in lots of different flavors. I started out working in the entrepreneurship and small business part of economic development. The concept there is pretty straight forward, if you can help businesses start and grow, you will create jobs and maybe even achieve some breakout companies that become the major employers. Even if you don’t, small and medium businesses employ half the people in the U.S. and are the most significant creators of new jobs. Small business and entrepreneurship are nice economic development entry points because the perceived need is largely for basic business training, relatively small investments, and access to existing market resources. Of course, given the failure rate of small businesses, it is also slow, speculative, and difficult to sustain work.

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