EDC Chair Brian O'Connor (R) welcomes Horst (L) and Councilman Daniel Owen to the December Quarterly Luncheon.

Ocala’s new City Manager Rick Horst was the guest speaker at today’s Quarterly Luncheon of EDC investors. He shared the answer to the question some have had…why Ocala? Whenever someone new comes to town, our community usually wants to know why. Horst discussed what he saw on his visits and in his research about Ocala…it’s a community of citizens instead of taxpayers. He shared the story of a man who wanted a degree and paid tuition to a college for four years. However, when he showed up for graduation there was no diploma. Horst used the analogy to describe taxpayers as people who begrudgingly pay their taxes, but never become engaged in the process. Citizens are people who ARE the government. Yes, they pay taxes, but they are willing to “roll up their sleeves” and make the community a better place. Horst referred to the work done by the EDC Raising the Bar initiative as highly innovative. He pointed to the crowd of 350 top business and community leaders and said, “This is a group of citizens.”

So, what do you think? Is Ocala/Marion County truly a community of citizens, or are we simply taxpayers?

One of the points for discussion and follow up from the 2008 Economic Growth Summit was Ocala Electic Utility rates. The EDC has convened the top ten energy customers to develop short and long term recommendations to present to City Manager Rick Horst. The committee is currently prioritizing the following recommendations: (more…)

Nearly 100 business executives, state and local elected officials and community leaders gathered today to discuss a plan to stimulate economic growth in our community. Convened by the Ocala EDC, leaders gained consensus regarding the 12 key points presented by key panelists.

Attendees were able to participate through an electronic survey tool to measure their opinions and gain consensus. We thought you might like to see some of the results. Download 2008_economic_growth_summit to view the complete presentation with all the response charts.

For your convenience, selected charts are placed in this post. Scroll through and tell us what you think. If you were at the Summit, how would you best describe the synergy in the room? This is your opportunity to let the community know your thoughts on the EDC’s efforts to stimulate economic growth in our community. (more…)