LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
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t the time of this writing, 2012 was quickly coming to a close and the fiscal cliff was still facing us as a nation, the Mayan calendar was ending in just a few days, and I still had to finish my Christmas shopping! Fast forward two months and we now know the answers to many of those things that were looming in front of us . . . my guess is that the fiscal cliff issue was “kicked down the road,” the Mayans were wrong because you are now reading this, and I managed to get the Christmas shopping done. Every day, we face uncertainty and all we can do is make our best guess as to what might happen and make decisions based on that. As Ben Franklin stated,“those things that hurt, instruct.” We have weathered some very difficult economic storms over the past few years and have learned a lot through the process. Despite all of the turmoil in the world, it appears the economy is starting to show some small signs of recovery.
JOHN VOTH Sr Vice President, Peoples Bank
During this past year, the board focused on living out the mission of the organization by looking at the big picture and how we can work as an organization to attract companies and business to our county. One item we supported was the Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) that would allow our local hoteliers to market and attract various groups and events to our county. We also focused our efforts on two opportunities that I would call “Legacy” projects for our county - the Tethys Bottling Plant and the North Cascades Resort projects. I call them Legacy projects because of the long term affect they will have on the job market and the spinoff businesses & industries that will emerge because of them being here. Opportunities like this only come up once every 20-30 years. We have a diverse economy in our county and have many Legacy industries in the valley already like the refineries, the lumber mills, aerospace, the boat industry, agriculture and many more – all bringing good jobs and complementary businesses to our valley. Over the years, EDASC has played a key role in bringing many of these key businesses into our valley. The great economist Milton Friedman once said, “one of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions, rather than their results.” People might ask what we are about and what we do. Look around you. I believe that EDASC has shown strong results over the years and in part due to the continued support from the members. It has been my pleasure serving you as the EDASC Board President this past year. Thank you for your continued support as EDASC lives out its mission to “enhance Skagit County’s quality of life through the creation and preservation of healthy businesses and good jobs.” May you and your business have a healthy and prosperous 2013!
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR “Recruiting business and assisting business requires the participation of many groups and individuals. The recruitment of HEXCEL is a prime example. From a referral by ABC Yacht Carters to a HEXCEL executive vacationing in Skagit County, to the leadership of the Port of Skagit County, to more than 20 groups and individuals that supported and cooperated with the effort, the success of the project required the work of many hands.” A lot has changed since those words appeared in this space in 1990.
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rolodex, a notepad, mail delivery and analog phones were at the foundation of our communication system. DON WICK Today it’s e-mail, a Web-page, Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, and smart phones that provide the backbone of Executive Director, our system.
EDASC
But, it is not the latest app on a smart phone, the color of the maps on our website or the rapid tweets that we value most, it is the people of this great community. It’s the people of Skagit County working together collaborating in partnerships that is our greatest tool in attracting and assisting business. That has never changed. Another element that has not changed is the value of a job. Today as our economy continues to recover, it is more important than ever to remind ourselves how vital a job is to a mother, a father, a family—to an entire community. A job not only provides a livelihood—it provides a living. It allows us to contribute to our community: to the school system, to youth groups, our church, to the environment, to our favorite charity. As former EDASC Board president Mike Crawford says, “When you have a job you even have time to coach Little League.” The value of a job is so very, very important to the health of our community. The most important feature in working to create jobs in this community is the unselfish collaboration of so many organizations and individuals. That spirit of cooperation that occurred 23 years ago continues to be important today. With a significant expansion underway, HEXCEL will provide up to 100 additional jobs to the Skagit economy.
Skagit.org
EDASC Member Services Guide / 2013 3