Traverse Bay EDC Advisory Council - Traverse Bay EDC Advisory Council E-News

From the desk of Tino Breithaupt

Halfway through 2007, the Traverse City region continues to be a bright spot for growth and development in the State of Michigan. Many of our region’s businesses are expanding their operations, reinvesting in their companies and adding new jobs and tax base to their respective communities. This is a great story for us to be touting to downstate and out of state firms that might be considering expansion plans for locating new facilities in the Midwest. Our region has a growing demographic in the 20-29 age range. We need to continue our efforts in growing business and building community to help grow this demographic for young professionals who want to obtain a good paying, high-tech, year-round job in our region.

To that end, the Traverse Bay EDC is in the process of developing new marketing materials that tout the Grand Traverse region as a great place to live, work, play and raise families. At the center of our efforts is the focus on the technical, social and economic aspects of our region’s economy. In fact, this week, we launched our new economic development section of the Chamber’s Web site. This is the first major step in our new marketing strategy. I encourage you to take a quick look at our new Web site and let us know what you think. We would welcome your comments and feedback as we continue to make modifications in the early stages of this new release.

The Traverse Bay EDC is also revising its Strategic Plan to incorporate the many priorities identified at our Economic Summit and other events during the past year. These and many other exciting activities are being addressed by your Traverse Bay EDC. I encourage you to get involved and support the efforts of the EDC as we continue our efforts to grow business and build community.

Benzie County Update

Two of Benzie County’s largest employers, Crystal Mountain and Graceland Fruit, have ongoing developments. Crystal Mountain’s master plan envisions over $30 million of development opportunities over the next several years.