June 2009 Economic Update

June marks the end of our third quarter with a flurry of activity. We were pleased to have Speaker of the House Larry Cretul join us for the Third Quarterly Luncheon. "Larry," as he likes to be called at home, received a warm welcome as he shared the news from this eventful session in Tallahassee. We are truly fortunate to have someone so close to our concerns holding such a pivitol role of leadership.

Achieving a "Constant State of Readiness" remains a high priority goal for the EDC and our economic development efforts are beginning to see some signs of recovery. There are currently nine projects in the works for expansion of local companies and eleven new companies considering Ocala/Marion County as their business destination! As many of you may have read, City Council approved a grant in the amount of $359,000 from their Economic Investment Program to support Intellon's expansion. Intellon will also go before the County Commission on July 7th to seek approval for their investment in this project. If successful, our community will see a return on that investment with the retention of 60 high-paying jobs and the creation of 10 new jobs paying on average $100,000 per year. We hope to report more good news in the coming months as current projects continue to move through the process.

Earlier this month, EDC Chair Brian O'Connor served as a panelist for Enterprise Florida's (EFI) first Roadmap Strategy Session. These sessions, occurring in seven regions across the state, will help EFI present a strategic plan to the state for economic recovery. Brian shared the thoughts and strategies of the EDC which emphasize the importance of a diversified economy for Ocala/Marion County.

By the end of this month, Marion County will hold a public hearing regarding the Economic Element and updated Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The EDC's Sites Task Force was very proud to have played an advisory role in the creation of the Economic Element with established goals and objectives.

Unemployment figures released last week show Ocala's MSA crept back over the 12% unemployment mark. There is still much to do as we strive to put almost 17,000 people back to work! We must persist in our plans to diversify and continue to promote Ocala/Marion County to prospective businesses as a place that is Great for Business! Great for Life!

Best Regards,


Pete Tesch
President/CEO

The 2009 Third Quarterly Luncheon of EDC Investors buzzed with excitement as the business community welcomed Speaker of the House Larry Cretul home to Ocala/Marion County. The 350 business executives and key community leaders greeted Cretul with a standing ovation. Cretul credited his partners for this district, Representatives Kurt Kelly, Charles Chestnut and Senator Evelyn Lynn, for a productive session, despite enormous challenges. The Speaker shared the process of trying to streamline budgets and bureaucracy.

As Speaker, Cretul limited legislators to six bills, with special consideration if they limited it to five. This was to ensure only bills of the highest priority would be proposed. This session, the House passed only 238 bills as compared to the average of around 400. “That’s actually a good thing,” shared Cretul, explaining that a number of “bad” policies can get tacked on with a larger volume of bills. Cretul shared his forethought in working toward a surplus to protect the State budget from “Stimulus Flame Out” once those funds are gone. “There are a lot of people to impress in politics. However, I try to remember the only people I really need to impress are my grandchildren. They will have to live with the decisions we make today. Nobody was really happy with the budget we passed...I think that could mean it’s a good one.”

	Congratulations to Marion County Clerk of the Circuit Court David Ellspermann who was named Florida's Clerk of the Year for 2009. We're so proud of you! Read more about David's service to our community in the Editorial Column that ran in the Star Banner.
	Kudos to Ron Ewers who was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for Florida's Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC).
	The EDC was honored this month as the 2009 Institutional Communicator of the Year by the Ocala Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association. FPRA Ocala Chapter President Tina Banner presented the award.

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