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2025-2026 ANNUAL REPORT Economic Development Council

Building Today for Tomorrow

Chairman and CEO Letter

Year of Momentum FY2026 | OCTOBER 2025 – SEPTEMBER 2026

Dear Investors, Partners, and Friends: Economic development is measured in announcements, jobs, and capital investment—but it is built through relationships, preparation, and a willingness to invest in the future before the outcome is certain. This year, the Tyler Economic Development Council continued that work with purpose and discipline. We strengthened Tyler’s position for major manufacturing and distribution projects, advanced critical infrastructure, expanded our inventory of development-ready property, supported existing employers, and marketed Tyler and Smith County to companies considering their next investment. Over the past several years, TEDC has assembled approximately 700 acres across three strategically located commerce parks. These properties, combined with Tyler’s transportation access, workforce, quality of life, and Foreign Trade Zone designation, give our community a stronger foundation for competing—and winning—for projects that can transform our economy for generations. Our work is not limited to recruiting new companies. We remain equally committed to the businesses already investing, employing people, and growing here. Their success is essential to Tyler’s future, and we are proud to work alongside them as they expand operations, address workforce needs, and navigate new opportunities. None of this happens through the efforts of one organization. Progress requires cooperation among the City of Tyler, Smith County, educational institutions, utility providers, private-sector leaders, and more than 160 TEDC investors. Those partnerships allow us to move faster, solve problems, and present a unified community to prospective employers. We are also mindful that growth must be pursued responsibly. TEDC’s role is to create opportunities that broaden the tax base, strengthen household incomes, and provide meaningful career paths for the people who call this region home. Every decision must be evaluated against those long-term objectives and managed with careful stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. The competition for quality jobs and investment has never been greater. Communities across Texas and the nation are making aggressive investments in sites, infrastructure, talent, and business recruitment. Tyler cannot afford to stand still. We must continue preparing today for opportunities that may not arrive for several years. We are optimistic about the year ahead. Our project pipeline is strong, our partnerships are deeper, and Tyler is increasingly being considered for investments of a size and significance that would have been difficult to pursue only a few years ago. That momentum is the result of sustained work and the confidence our investors and community partners have placed in TEDC. Thank you for your investment, your counsel, and your continued belief in Tyler and Smith County. Together, we are building an economy that is more diverse, more resilient, and better positioned for the future. Sincerely,

Economic development is more than announcements. Throughout FY2026, TEDC worked alongside our investors and community partners to strengthen the sites, workforce, infrastructure and business environment that keep Tyler competitive and positioned for continued growth.

PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES PURSUED

SITE SELECTOR & PROSPECT VISITS

TEDC responded to 18 project opportunities during FY2026, connecting companies and site selectors with Tyler’s sites, infrastructure, workforce data and community partners.

We hosted 12 site selector and prospect visits, bringing decisionmakers to Tyler to experience our available sites, infrastructure, workforce and community advantages firsthand.

200+ 600+ EXISTING BUSINESSES ENGAGED

ACRES ADVANCED FOR DEVELOPMENT

TEDC engaged more than 200 existing businesses through its business retention and expansion program, supporting local employers, addressing challenges and helping existing companies grow and remain competitive in Tyler and Smith County.

We continued to advance more than 600 acres of employment land through planning, infrastructure coordination, due diligence and development-readiness initiatives.

Key Wins in FY2026 BUILDING A STRONGER TYLER.

WORKFORCE EXCELLENCE AWARD

Scott Martinez, CEcD President and CEO

SEWER LINE PROJECT UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Statewide Recognition for Workforce Innovation

Expanding Capacity for Future Growth

TEDC received the Workforce Excellence Award for its partnership with Tyler Junior College and LTS Material Handling, recognizing their collaborative efforts to develop a skilled local workforce.

A new sewer line, now under construction with the City of Tyler, will expand capacity and site readiness at one of TEDC’s key employment properties.

OPPORTUNITY ZONE 2.0 DESIGNATION

NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT CR 3344

TEDC successfully secured an Opportunity Zone 2.0 designation for North Tyler, creating new incentives to attract private investment, encourage development, expand the tax base, and generate quality jobs.

A new traffic signal at CR 3344 will improve safety, traffic flow and access to our development sites, supporting future industrial and commercial growth.

Creating New Opportunities for North Tyler

Roy Martinez Chairman of the Board

Infrastructure in Action

Improving Access and Connectivity

Quarterly Investor Breakfasts

Each year, the TEDC gathers investors for three Investor Breakfasts, a closer look at the forces shaping our economy. This year’s “State of” series put three of the sectors driving Tyler on stage, each panel led by the people closest to the work.

3rd Annual InterCity Visit Greenville, South Carolina Presented by:

State of Manufacturing

State of Commercial Development

Tyler’s makers talked shop — how workforce training, automation, and steady local investment keep the region’s plants competitive and hiring.

Where Tyler builds next. Brokers and developers weighed in on demand, available land, and the projects reshaping the commercial landscape.

Moderator: Dr. Juan Mejia - Tyler Junior College

Moderator: Scott Martinez - Tyler Economic Development Council

Panelists: Joe Holzbauer - Tyler Pipe & Coupling Robert Rivers - Trane Technologies Octavio Tellez - Hood Packaging

Panelists: Martin Heines - Martin Heines Real Estate Ray McKinney - Genecov Group Sam Scarborough - Scarborough Commercial Real Estate

Investor Crawfish Boil

State of Healthcare Tyler is the medical hub of East Texas. Hospital leaders discussed growth, workforce, and what it takes to keep world-class care close to home. Moderator: George Roberts - NET Health Panelists: Zach Dietze - UT Health Tyler Jess Mowery - Baylor Scott & White Jason Proctor - CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances

This year’s InterCity Visit took Tyler leaders to Greenville, South Carolina, a city that turned decades of disciplined planning into one of the South’s great downtown success stories. A delegation of over 60 business and community leaders explored how Greenville aligned government, employers, education, and philanthropy to grow without losing what makes it special. Highlights included:

A Downtown Reimagined: For years, Greenville’s downtown waterfall sat hidden beneath a highway bridge. The city tore the bridge down, built Falls Park, and turned a forgotten asset into its signature. Mayor Knox White walked the delegation through a Main Street rebuilt around walkability, public art, and downtown living. A Talent Pipeline by Design: At Greenville Technical College’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation and Clemson’s automotive research campus, the group saw employers helping shape the classroom. The lesson for Tyler was clear. Keeping young talent starts long before graduation. T he Power of Partnership: Greenville’s growth is a team effort. Five development organizations and major employers like Fluor, Prisma Health, and United Community Bank work from different lanes toward one shared goal. Prosperity that reaches the whole community. Q uality as Strategy: From a downtown ballgame with the Greenville Drive at Fluor Field to a tour of the Peace Center, the delegation saw how Greenville treats parks, arts, and public spaces as economic tools, not extras. The takeaway for Tyler was simple. The places people love are the same places that attract talent and investment.

“Greenville was a great example of what a community can do when it pulls together. In Tyler, we have the people and the partnerships to do the same.” — Clint Childs, Tyler City Council

TEDC ANNUAL REPORT 2025 – 2026

The Return on Your Investment

TEDC

I S

UNDED

unded y investors not a sales tax

Most economic development organi ations are funded by a half cent sales tax. TTEC is not. t runs on more than 160 investors who choose to back Tyler local businesses and leaders, alongside public partners like the City of Tyler and mith County. z

Your investment doesn't stop at TEDC. It moves through the whole community, and it comes back stronger. More than 160 investors put their resources, leadership, and infuence behind Tyler this year, and TTEC put that support to work. Here is how one investment becomes a stronger city, and then becomes the next opportunity.

WHAT AT TTEDC E D C DOES DOES

WHAT COMMUNITY AT TTHE HE C O M M U N I T YGAINS GAINS

Increased Tax Base

Catalyst

More businesses share the tax load that funds services.

We buy and ready land so projects can start fast.

TmiC Investors

More than 160 businesses and leaders invest in Tyler every year.

Convener

We bring city, county, schools, and business to one table.

Business Grows

Companies expand, relocate, and hire across the region.

Community ins

Growth becomes gains the whole community shares.

More Talent

Opportunity draws skilled workers and keeps them here.

Connector

Higher Quality of Life

We link projects to the resources they need to succeed.

etter schools, parks, and streets to enjoy.

More Investment

stronger Tyler attracts the next investment. The cycle begins again. A

Your investment doesn t sto at TmiC It moves through Tyler '

Invest in TEDC, and you invest in business, in obs and in the uture o this community. j

More Com etitive Tyler p

stronger Tyler is ready to win the next company.

Dr. Rick Rigsby

Taylor Burns

2026 TEDC KEYNOTE SPEAKER

2026 HERBERT BUIE VISIONARY AWARD RECIPIENT

KEYNOTE: “MAKING AN IMPACT”

Join us in honoring Taylor Burns as the 2026 recipient of the Herbert Buie Visionary Award. In the late 1980s, Taylor helped lead the effort that created the TEDC.

Nearly 300 million people worldwide have viewed Dr. Rigsby’s speech in the viral video “Lessons from a Third Grade Dropout.”

Here is that story, in Taylor’s own words:

As President and CEO of Rick Rigsby Communications, the internationally acclaimed speaker presents to top companies worldwide and is a favorite among professional and collegiate sports organizations. A former award-winning professor, Rigsby spent over two decades teaching, most of those years at Texas A&M University, where he was hired by legendary football icon R.C. Slocum as chaplain and Life Skills coach for the Aggies football team.

In the late 1980s, the once vibrant economy Tyler citizens had enjoyed came to a rapid halt. Oil and gas was Tyler’s major industry, and the price of crude dropped as low as eight dollars per barrel. Most of the oil and gas companies closed their Tyler offices, including Exxon, which shut down a 60,000-squarefoot office building.

A former award-winning journalist, Dr. Rigsby is a regular contributor on numerous national television and radio programs. His transformative podcast, How Ya Livin’?, encourages, inspires, and challenges people at every level to dream bigger, stretch beyond comfort zones, and achieve the impossible. His books include Lessons From a Third Grade Dropout and Afraid to Hope.

Rick Rigsby, President & CEO Rick Rigsby Communications · Motivational Speaker · Best-Selling Author

MORE FROM DR. RIGSBY Scan a code below to watch more of Dr. Rigsby’s message on leadership, greatness and impact.

LEADERSHIP

GREATNESS

IMPACT

What Great Leaders Do

The Essence of Greatness

Influence Determines Impact

Scan to watch

All four of Tyler’s savings and loan associations closed, and every bank in Tyler except Southside Bank was closed by the FDIC. Home prices dropped by about thirty percent. Every large apartment complex in town was foreclosed on.

We then created the Tyler Economic Development Council. Committee members called on local businesses to help fund it, and for the most part, we were well received. The Tyler Industrial Foundation transferred its assets to the new organization; Jimmy Wynne and Dub Riter were instrumental in making that happen. Dub, Jimmy and I served on the committee to hire its first executive. Once we interviewed Tom Mullins, we offered him the job, and he accepted. The rest, as they say, is history. In my opinion, the creation of the TEDC was one of the most important events in the history of Tyler. The track record of this organization speaks for itself. It is now stronger and more effective than ever.

Taylor Burns

There would be no TEDC without Taylor Burns.

At the time, I served a term as chairman of the Chamber of Commerce division that focused on recruiting and retaining businesses. I felt the Chamber needed to be much more aggressive. Over lunch one day, my friend Phil Hurley and I decided to bring a group of business people together to find ways to improve the business climate. In those meetings, we were often told that some prominent business owners had blocked new businesses from coming to Tyler. I found this hard to believe, so I did some research. I met with Dub Riter, Isadore Roosth, Henry Bell Jr. and Bill Hartley. Every one of them assured me they knew nothing of it, and all of them pledged to help. Dr. Raymond Hawkins was then Chairman of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce. Raymond and I were good friends; we had both come to Tyler in 1967 to teach at Tyler Junior College. He formed a committee of local business people to study the problem. The committee hired the Fantus Group, a business consulting firm, which recommended a new organization dedicated strictly to recruiting new businesses and retaining existing companies.

Taylor Burns

TEDC Mission

Board of Directors

We are a catalyst for sustainable growth by... 1. Driving job creation and retention 2. Attracting capital investment 3. Stimulating economic diversity

...to strengthen Tyler and Smith County

STRONG BUSINESSES. A STRONGER TYLER. BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION

MANUFACTURING WEEK 2026

INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

BUSINESS SUPPORT IN ACTION

Connected local manufacturers, Tyler Junior College, and area schools to highlight careers in advanced manufacturing and skilled trades.

Through industry outreach and quarterly TMPG meetings, TEDC fostered dialogue on shared challenges and opportunities.

Through more than 200 business visits, TEDC identified employer needs, addressed challenges, and connected companies with resources.

Smith County students toured manufacturing facilities and TJC West Campus, explored career paths, met industry professionals, and received local recognition.

Strengthened connections among business leaders, workforce partners, and educators to support collaboration, workforce development, and long-term growth.

Supported continued investment, business growth, and regional competitiveness.

Awards and Accreditations:

2025-2026

GREG ADCOCK Austin Bank

NEAL FRANKLIN Smith County

JULIE V. PHILLEY University of Texas at Tyler

PAULA ANTHONY UT Health East Texas

LEE GIBSON Southside Bank, Retired

JASON PROCTOR CHRISTUS Health

BARRY BEAMAN Hiland Dairy

CHARLES GORDON Baylor Scott & White TSJH

MATTHEW RAMIREZ Greater Texas Capital Corp.

MICHAEL BOSWORTH Bosworth & Associates

GLENN GREEN NET RMA

RANDY REYNOLDS HGR General Contractors

CLAY BRASHER Brookshire Grocery Co

ERICA HALLMARK East Texas Tax & Land, LLC

JAMES SHERIDAN Texas Bank & Trust

GARNETT BROOKSHIRE East Texas Pinnacle Properties

JEFF HARRIS Delek Refinery, Retired

THOMAS SMITH RBC Wealth Management

EDWARD BROUSSARD City of Tyler

JEFF JOHNSTON Chick-Fil-A Broadway Crossing

JIM THOMPSON Cavender Family Office

BRENT BYERS Byers Family Partnership

ROY MARTINEZ Bronco Logistics

TOM TRIMBLE Oncor Electric Delivery

MARTY CRAWFORD Tyler ISD

SCOTT MARTINEZ Tyler Economic Development

JOE VALLADARES Texas Farm Credit

BRAD CURTIS Tyler Building Systems

RAY MCKINNEY Genecov Group

DON WARREN City of Tyler

CARLEEN DARK-BAYS CDB Consulting

JUAN MEJIA Tyler Junior College

MARK WHATLEY Burns Commercial Properties

JEREMY DOYLE Great Southern Wood - YellaWood

THOMAS NEUHOFF Herd Family Office

WALTER WILHELMI Prothro Wilhelmi & Co.

DWIGHT FENNELL Texas College

TOM PERKINS Trinity Capital Management

Executive Committee: ROY MARTINEZ Chairman

GARNETT BROOKSHIRE Secretary

NEAL FRANKLIN Smith County Representative

PAULA ANTHONY Member At-Large

BRAD CURTIS Vice Chair

LEE GIBSON Treasurer

EDWARD BROUSSARD City of Tyler Representative

JASON PROCTOR Member At-Large

RAY MCKINNEY Immediate Past Chair

MICHAEL BOSWORTH Resource Committee Chair

THOMAS NEUHOFF Member At-Large

TOM PERKINS TACC Board Chair

Staff:

The TEDC received the 2025 Texas EDC Workforce Excellence Award in the 100,001–250,000 population category, a recognition of Tyler’s continued progress in job creation, business expansion, and investment attraction that strengthen the region’s economy.

The Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) program recognizes the professional excellence of EDCs and provides independent feedback on their operations, structure, and procedures. Maintaining AEDO status gives investors confidence that the TEDC is a leading authority in economic development.

Scott Martinez, CEcD President and CEO

Mary Alice Guidry, AIA Senior Vice President

Tara Ellis Director of Industry and Workforce Initiatives

Karla Anders, EDFP Loan Program Manager

Angie Hines, BREC, EDFP Operations and Programs Manager

Economic Development Council

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Tyler Economic Development Council 315 North Broadway Avenue, Suite 300, Tyler, TX 75702 903.593.2004 invest@tedc.org www.tedc.org