Charles County Economic Summit

Charles County Economic Summit

Wednesday, Oct 26, 2011  8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Morning Agenda
Keynote
Economic Wither or Wealth: The Imperative for Harvesting Your Own
Robin Phelps • National Strategic Research Team Leader of the Lowe Foundation’s National Center for Economic Gardening

Session I  - Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Casey Willson • Retail Industry & Sustainability Manager at the Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Maryland College Park

Session II - Successful Strategies in Leveraging
Community Networks & Social Media
Mindie Burgoyne • Social Media Expert and Trainer - Great Blue Media & DBED; Accomplished author and freelance writer

Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Breakout I . . . Supercharging Your Online Presence: Using and leveraging social media to get connected and grow
Breakout II . . . Farm to Fork Ag Exchange: An exciting exchange exploring new collaborative ideas between local food producers, buyers, and sellers
Breakout III . . . Entrepreneurs Forum & Idea Exchange: Designed for entrepreneurs and established companies; exploring common obstacles, collaborative ideas, and new growth strategies
Breakout IV . . . Beyond Banking - Exploring Alternative Funding & Financing: A discussion exploring existing, new and innovative ideas for local angel and other venture funding


More Info and Registration.....

Sept 10, 2011 Trail Town Initiative launch

Please print and distribute this flyer to help promote the event on Sep 10.

Charles County Economic Development Summit

Charles County Economic Development Summit

10/26/2011

More information as it becomes available. Contact Office of Economic Development for information: 301-885-1340.

No Interest Loans for Businesses

Angela Thornton of DBED sent information about a new no interest loan program for businesses. The flyer is here-- "No Interest Loan for Businesses" and is also in the list of documents on the right side of the blog.

Good Day!

Thanks so much for coming to the Indian Head EDC meetings and thanks for checking out our blog. With most economic news trending downward, at least we can say our blog views are trending upward!

Be sure to become a follower so you can be kept up to date. I have a modest personal goal of 50 followers by the end of September. I promise to keep the content fresh and as we evolve make it even more interesting. If you would like to contribute, feel free to comment.

We’ll be in touch soon with some next steps regarding the Trail Town Initiative.

First steps will be:
1. Raise a bit more seed money. Thank you VERY much to those of you who wrote checks on the 15th and to those of you who asked that we follow up to talk to you about a contribution.
2. Plan a Trail Town assessment day for September. This will be a walking assessment followed by debriefing and prioritization of key projects. Would it be a good idea tie in to the Indian Head 100 on Sunday Sep 11. Maybe Saturday Sep 10?
3. Form an Action Team to work closely with the McCollom team over the next several months to do the following:
· Research and write grants related to economic development and key projects identified during the assessment.
· Create a communication piece to keep the community informed and engaged
· Work with existing Indian Head web site to strategically outreach to prospective businesses
· Identify two key buildings for specific usage and market accordingly
· Create an Indian Head brand and a marketing strategy to encourage greater visitation; including recommendations for packages with existing attractions and businesses

Your comments are very welcomed!
Peggy Palmer
Chair, Indian Head EDC
http://ihedc.blogspot.com
301-848-8267

SMECO Commercial Rates

Are you aware that as a business owner, you are or will be getting placed into the DEMAND rate class and will be forced to pay a DEMAND Distribution fee regardless of your peak pull on the system? If you want more information, contact me. Pennie D. onecent@advancedvisionsys.com

June 15 EDC Meeting -Implementation of our Economic Development Plans NOW! - Cathy McCollom to speak - and more on Electric Vehicle charging stations

Stop planning and start implementing....We have a SUPER Econ Dev plan. NOW let's move forward with bold steps toward implementing it! Branding, positioning, attracting business...let's get going!

We request your attendance at an important meeting of the Indian Head Economic Development Commission on June 15th at 7pm.

As someone who has a stake in the future of Indian Head, we need your input and assistance with a proposal before the Town for economic development assistance from McCollom Development Strategies. The Town has offered to match funding that the EDC will raise.

On June 15th Cathy McCollom, of McCollom Development Strategies in Confluence, PA will present her plan for branding, positioning and business attraction. Cathy worked with Beth Porter of the National Park Service to create a Trail Town mini-assessment of Indian Head several months ago, and she was very much impressed by the engagement of the public officials here as well as the opportunities in the town. She has over 20 years of experience in urban and rural community and economic development and supports an approach to community revitalization based on capitalizing on the assets of a community; whether they are historic buildings, a rich heritage, unique nearby attractions or resorts or access to outdoor recreational opportunities.

Cathy launched and directed the Trail Town Program, a regional community and economic development initiative in Pennsylvania and Maryland in nine communities bordering the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail.

Please join us as we tackle raising the necessary funds to engage McCollom in helping us with our marketing and positioning efforts for Indian Head. It is a relative small amount of money that can make a huge difference in our future as a vibrant small town.

It's time to start implementing our plans! (Of course, we'll never stop planning, but it is time for bold actions!)

SURPRISE- NEW SPEAKER ADDED TO THE AGENDA- Mark Czajka, of Charles County Technology Council, will share with us an exciting opportunity for an Electric Vehicle Charging Station in Indian Head!

We have had several RSVP's from prominent leaders. I will not drop names. (Call me 301-848-8267 if you want to know who is coming) Don't miss your opportunity to be part of this exciting push to "get 'er done!"
Stay cool...Peggy

May 18 meeting

Open invitation to Stakeholders - We would like for the business owners of Indian Head to attend our meetings. The focus of the May 18th meeting is to start to reach out to the business community and engage them in Town Economic Development plans. We will meet from 7-9 pm at the Pavilion. Our goal will be to explain some of our plans, show how they benefit, and enlist their help.

1. Pam Hayes, co-founder of the Indian Head Business Assn (IHBA) will speak about the outcomes from the luncheon on the 11th and the goals of the organization. The IHBA and EDC should work together for the benefit of the business owners in Indian Head. The IHBA can gain members during EDC meetings and the EDC can gain supporters by attending the IHBA meetings.

2. Edward Joel will brief us on the Trail Outreach Committee progress and plans.

3. Cathy McCollum will present at the Jun meeting. We need to start now to plan to build enthusiasm and support for the June 15 meeting.

4. We need the assistance of the businesses in Indian Head who will benefit from town development efforts. If we can raise money to hire McCollum Development to write 2-3 initial capacity development grants, the Town will match the money we raise. - We can then leverage the initial capacity development grants to get started on raising more money for the larger proposal that McCollum Development has presented. The idea is to (as money is raised) move in a planned progression toward the accomplishment of all the goals of the entire proposal.
Please let me know if you want to see the proposal.

I welcome all your assistance and input. Peggy Palmer

April 20 meeting - guest speaker Robin Finnacom

Robin A. Finnacom, President/CEO of Lexington Park Community Development Corporation, will be our guest speaker on April 20.

http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/decd/cdc.asp
From the web site ...
"The Community Development Corporation serves residents of St. Mary's by promoting public and private investment in communities throughout the County. The Corporation is a catalyst for positive change in communities where commercial and residential redevelopment is needed.

The Corporation was created in 1985. It is an independent, non-profit entity. The Board of the Development Corporation is composed of representatives of the community at large, business, finance, commercial and residential development, the defense contracting community, the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the St. Mary's County Housing Authority, Department of Social Services and Department of Economic and Community Development.

Since 2000, the Development Corporation has focused almost exclusively on commercial revitalization in the older commercial areas of Lexington Park. Projects such as the redevelopment of Lexington Manor and the reconstruction of Great Mills Road are typical of initiatives undertaken by the Corporation to focus federal, state and local resources on enhancing this older area.

Improving older communities throughout St. Mary's County creates an attractive environment for new business growth and helps existing businesses prosper. These actions fuel a stronger and more diverse tax base and increase employment and shopping opportunities for residents County-wide."

From the DECD web site...(paraphrased by me)
The Community Development Corporation is one of four divisions of the St. Mary’s County Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD). the four divisons are: Housing, Tourism, Agriculture & Seafood, Business Development and the Executive Director of the Community Development Corporation (CDC)

These 4 divisions of the DECD work with citizen-led boards and commissions to identify and meet challenges. The staff also coordinates with other county, regional, state and federal agencies to promote and expand markets and encourage investment. The DECD produces an annual Technology Handbook, a listing of available office/building/land sites; tourism brochures written for many audiences; and listings of available rental properties; and participates in several key events throughout the year.

Retreat 02/26/11

Thanks for coming to the meeting. It was good to see that we are all on the same page in our desire to have a dedicated entity that can bridge the gap between the Town's capacity and the efforts for Economic Development for Indian Head. You decided that the goal should be to attract a self-sustaining entity which will generate economic development for Indian Head.
Actions and some reading...
1. I have asked Robin Finnacom , President/CEO of St Mary's Community Development Corporation to speak at our 16 March meeting and she has tentatively said "yes!".
2. Here is the Proforma (a draft from 2008) for a potential Economic (or community) Development Corporation.
3. Here is a Draft Strategic Plan for the EDC. I had started working on this from the first meeting, but never got around to getting everyone involved in helping contribute. It includes a record of accomplishments and some of the projects we have undertaken. Take a look at this and see if you can add some ideas. Indian Head Economic Devleopment Commission Projects, Plans and goals.

Next EDC meeting is Jan 19

Happy New Year! We will meet Jan 19, 2011 at the Indian Head Pavilion at 7pm. Discussion topics will be the McCollum Development Strategies Proposal, recommendations for a new business owner member. This meeting is open to the public.