Key Accomplishments and Highlights of 2004
Economic Development
Small Business Development Center:
Provided 1144 hours of business counseling at no charge to 256 clients; assisted in $9.85M loan approvals for clients; hired a new business development counselor to provide expanded business counseling services; helped small businesses retain 442 jobs and create 100 new jobs in the Itasca area
Commercial Spec Building:
Advanced a plan and strategy for constructing multi-site building developments at key JOBZ locations to have available for commercial/industrial space
Itasca Technolgy Exchange (ITE):
ITE is at 73% occupancy with 8 tenants and 33 employees; the data center is at 60% occupancy; provided space to accommodate the TechNorth Prep Network
Minnesota Community Capital Fund (MCCF):
Sponsored a $ .5M loan for 1 client through MCCF; ($ .35M loan pending); clients have access to $2.5 million in fixed rate interest loans
Labovitz Awards:
Advanced the successful nominations of two recipients of the12 th Annual Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Awards: Drew Prochazka received the Emerging Entrepreneur Award and Gary Lemke received the Mature Entrepreneur Award; Kirk Bustrom was nominated for the Recognizing Emerging Technologies Award
Community Development
Job Opportunity Building Zone (JOBZ):
Received JOBZ designation for 21 sub zones in 10 Itasca area communities; completed 4 JOBZ projects committing over $13.7 million in investment and creating 33 full time living wage jobs
County Forests Certification:
Recommended the implementation of a credible, internationally recognized program providing third-party certification of county forest land to the county board
Recreation/Toursim:
Worked collaboratively with the Chamber, Convention and Visitors Bureau, tourism professionals, and resorts to more effectively market the area; publicly supported the formation of a new tourism marketing organization funded by a 3% lodging tax and partner contributions
Cohasset Manufacturing Facility:
Facilitated bringing foreclosed building back to private sector ownership and into productive use after being empty for five years
Alignment, Organization and Communication
Itasca Economic Development Council (IEDC):
Established the 41-member IEDC, which met four times in 2004, to represent the communities throughout the Itasca region and take a leadership role in supporting the mission of helping create quality jobs
Forums/Events/Meetings:
Hosted the first Community Celebration/Annual Meeting, the 2004 Action Team Kick-Off Meeting, Labovitz Awards Reception, and four Jobs 2020 forums
Community Partnerships:
Expanded private sector funding partnerships; supported collaboration efforts with various community organizations to align service to community
Blandin Community Leadership Program:
Partnered with the Blandin Foundation on two community leadership training programs tailored to IDC/Jobs 2020 and the specific needs of the community for fifty-two Itasca area community leaders
Communications:
Produced and distributed the 2003 Annual Perspective, Itasca Profile, and 2004 Mid Year Perspective; placed two promotional billboards in area; designed new brochures and promotional folders; redesigned and updated the www.itascadv.org website; updated all Itasca County community profiles for placement on the MNPro website; contributed articles to the area newspapers, appeared on ICTV and KOZY; developed and incorporated new logo for IDC/Jobs 2020
Vision Communication:
Developed a communications kit for IEDC members to use in presentations to 30 Itasca area organizations for the purpose of promoting the creation of a shared vision for a healthy community
Northeast Entrepreneur Fund (NEF):
Established a NEF satellite office at IDC/Jobs 2020 to enhance collaboration and communication between the two organizations and more efficiently serve the community
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