Economic Development News |
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From Ross Welch, Executive Director |
This month, our community lost one of its finest champions for local businesses, Eureka Chamber CEO Donna Wright. I first met Donna when she was at Coastal Business System and she sold us our copier at AEDC. She then went on to revitalize the Eureka Chamber of Commerce in 2017. As much as we have enjoyed our printer, she seemed to really find her calling as an advocate for small businesses. During her time as CEO, she made the chamber relevant and vibrant and established genuine connections throughout the community. She will be dearly missed and forever loved as one of Eureka’s great champions.
-- Ross
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McKinleyville Chamber of Commerce—2022 Small Business of the Year |
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Congratulations to Bigfoot Taproom, one of our AEDC clients, for winning the McKinleyville Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year! After the big win, owners Lisa, Ray, and Neil wanted to “thank the community for all the support and encouragement. We are so happy to be recognized and awarded the McKinleyville Chamber of Commerce 2022 Small Business of the Year.”
Bigfoot Taproom is a local tasting room and 4,000+ square foot beer garden that features 32 taps of beverages including beer, wine, and cider. They take pride in providing an assortment of local beer, cider, and wine made in the heart of Humboldt and Bigfoot country. Their goal is to provide quality beverages in an environment where every customer leaves impressed and happy. Using locally sourced products whenever possible to minimize their carbon footprint and strengthen the local economy.
Since its opening in 2019, Bigfoot Taproom has become a neighborhood meeting place, one that is loved by the community and enjoyed by all. It’s no surprise that Bigfoot Taproom came in first for Mckinleyville’’s Small Business of the Year! See what they have on tap and check out their merch by clicking here!
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Back in February, the AEDC Board came together to officially approve the Strategic Plan for 2022-2026. AEDC's Strategic Plan will focus on strengthening its capacity to serve our community and support entrepreneurial innovative business, and community endeavors. Our key objective is to reflect on how AEDC's history, culture, organization, and partnerships guide how AEDC invests and collaborates across our six-county region.
Here are the top 3 strategic objectives AEDC will be focusing on:
- Investments in Business
- Investments in Community
- Investments in People
The goals of these objectives are to provide an increase in services to underserved communities based on AEDC's geographic scope as well as cultural and economic demographics. To invest in our community, we will build and leverage funds and partnerships to provide our small business borrowers and community development projects with the best opportunity for funding success. To learn more about the goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan click here!
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2nd Annual Redwood Coast Region Economic Summit—Save the Date Sept. 22-23! |
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Over the past several years, our community has experienced a lot of change. While this change comes with exciting new opportunities, change can also be hard to navigate in so many ways. For our second annual Redwood Coast Region Economic Summit, we want to lean into the hard conversations around change and collectively find new opportunities to move forward in a positive way as we leverage our strengths as a region.
Last year's virtual economic summit was a huge success. We received so much positive feedback from those who participated that we’re excited to bring back these regional conversations around our economy and quality of life throughout our four counties. In addition to the 2-day virtual summit, there will also be in-person gatherings in each of the four counties which will be a new and fun dynamic to add to our ongoing conversations. Stay tuned for more information, but for now save the date September 22-23, 2022!
This year's Keynote Speakers will be Robert Eyler, Senator Mike McGuire, Caroline Beteta, and Ken Hamik.
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Robert Eyler
Robert Eyler is the Dean of the School of Extended and International Education at Sonoma State University. Eyler started teaching at Sonoma State in 1995 and has served as Chair of the Economics Department (2004-2011) and director of the Executive MBA program (2009-2013). He holds a Ph.D. from UC Davis and a B.A. in Economics from CSU, Chico.
Eyler serves on the board of directors of both Redwood Credit Union and Marin County Workforce Investment Board, as well as the Economic Advisory Council for the California Chamber of Commerce. As the author of two books and several academic articles concerning economics, Eyler is often quoted in the media as an expert on local and national economic trends. He also provides economic impact analyses for both private firms and public entities to help guide public policy at the local and state level.
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Senator Mike McGuire
Mike is a lifelong Californian. His family farmed the Golden State’s rich soils for decades and he was raised by two incredibly strong women, his mom and grandma. Mike and his mom struggled growing up. He’s been working full-time since he was 16, helping put himself through college.
McGuire is the third highest-ranking member of the Senate and the youngest Assistant Majority Leader in decades. He’s been a champion for our kids and public schools. He went to the mat and won against President Trump on offshore oil drilling, led the charge in the legislature on wildfires, and is a leading voice in holding PG&E accountable. No one has been more successful at securing resources to combat homelessness and build affordable housing in rural California.
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Caroline Beteta
Caroline Beteta serves as president & CEO of the industry-led Visit California, a nonprofit organization created to market California as a premier travel destination to increase the state’s share of tourism-related revenues. She simultaneously serves as a strategic advisor for the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development (GO-Biz). She is responsible for implementing Visit California’s global marketing program on behalf of the organization’s 21,000 investors and serves as the lead spokesperson for California’s travel industry.
In her tenure, she has overseen a decade of growth for California’s travel industry, peaking in 2019 with a record $144.9 billion in economic benefit to the state. She has shepherded the growth of Visit California into a global marketing franchise and helped restore travel and tourism following numerous natural and economic crises.
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Ken Hamik
Ken Hamik is a futurist working in Humboldt County over the past 10 years. He is the Chair of the Arcata Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Marketing Chair for the Humboldt County Visitors Bureau, a member of the College of the Redwoods Presidents Council, and a partner in the Ganjery, a Humboldt dispensary that has also been given approval from the County to include distribution and manufacturing.
Ken has over 40 years of management and consulting experience across a wide range of markets and has presented and published internationally. As a futurist, he has worked across multiple industries in executive, managerial, and consulting roles.
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Tara Lynn Gray
Tara Lynn Gray is the Small Business Advocate & Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate.
Gray was the CEO of the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce. She has also worked for the Chamber Foundation since 2017 and Chief Executive Officer of YADARI Enterprises since 2004. She is a member of Black Women Organized for Political Action, Abundant Life Worship Center, the California Black Chamber of Commerce and Chamber Foundation Board, Central Valley New Markets Tax Credit LLC Advisory Board, the California Small Business Employer Advisory Council, Caltrans Small Business Council and California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, Hospital Supplier Diversity Commission.
Being a Sponsor is an amazing way to invest in our community and be seen as a business leader. If you’re interested in becoming a Sponsor, please email Susan Seaman for more information at susans@aedc1.org!
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Arcata Economic Development Corporation
Fax: (707) 798-6130
Tel: (707) 798-6132
707 K Street, Eureka, CA 95501
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