March AEDC Newsletter

Economic Development News

From Ross Welch, Executive Director

The best part of being a Community Development Financial Institution is getting to celebrate financial milestones for our clients. Whether it’s the moment of receiving a loan or making that final payment, these are often turning points that are worth celebrating. This month, we were able to celebrate a milestone of our own as we officially paid off our building! What once was a doctor and attorney's office, and then a vacant building is now our headquarters, where our day-to-day operations take place. We purchased the building in 2014 and officially moved in in 2016. Just six years later, we were able to pay off the mortgage, and took the opportunity to celebrate our success! We are so grateful for our community and all the support you’ve shown us since we moved in. For the foreseeable future, 707 K Street, Eureka will continue to be a place where we can help grow our region's economy by assisting local businesses!

-- Ross

New Employee–Welcome Hannah Joy!

AEDC would like to give a very warm welcome to one of our newest employees, Hannah Joy! Hannah is so excited to be joining the team at AEDC, “I really align with their philosophy of “funding opportunity”. We got together with Ms. Joy to learn more about her and here’s what she had to say!

What did you do prior to joining AEDC?

I just came from the legal cannabis space, where I represented a mom-and-pop farm as their director of operations which meant I was in charge of their compliance, sales, and marketing. Basically, I helped them transition into the legal marketplace. Through that, I got involved with Project Trellis, Humboldt County's program for micro-grants and loans.

How do you think you will apply your knowledge to your new position?

I have a sole proprietorship and have been operating in the small business space for about 7 years. So, I have experience with the hardships and obstacles of having your own business and being an entrepreneur. And being a small business owner, I know the difficulties that come along with all of that as I’ve gone through the SBDC process myself. Experiencing firsthand just how hard that process can be as a single female and with existing barriers to entry, it is my hope to use my new position as an advocate for the communities who need assistance the most.

Tell us more about your own business…

I am the owner of NorCal Perfect Bar, a distribution company for Perfect Bar that is now nationally recognized and can be found in our local markets and other places like Starbucks and WholeFoods. They have somewhat of a rags-to-riches story, and are now doing fantastic. We were the first distributor for that product and we are now the only small, locally-owned distributor.

When you're not helping people grow their businesses or fund microloans where can we find you?

I LOVE Humboldt and I can’t seem to get away from it no matter how hard I try. And, I just bought a house, so I’ve been working on renovating and adding an ADU as a personal passion project. I also love surfing, hiking, and solo backpacking in the Trinity Alps.

Opening Del Norte Office with SBDC

It’s Springtime and everything is growing, even our offices. AEDC is partnering with the North Coast SBDC to have a regular presence in their new Del Norte offices, opening soon. We will have a meeting area in the new office at 1080 Mason Mall #8 in Crescent City. We are looking forward to regular visits to Del Norte to support business and community development projects.

Finance Director–Job Opening!

The Finance Director is an integral member of a dynamic team developing the various financial opportunities in the region. Working with the Executive Director to increase funding sources, supporting financial planning with the Program Director and the Public Investing and Innovation Project Manager, and maintaining the integrity of the financial data. The successful candidate has the ability to ensure confidence in the accuracy of financial data, effective cash management, timely governmental reporting, successful audits, and working with the team to promote AEDC in the region. For more information and details, check out our job description here.

Lemonade Day 2022: CANCELLED

As we all know, the past couple of years have been challenging for businesses across the board. Lemonade Day has been no exception to that. While the decision has been hard, we have decided not to host Lemonade Day in 2022. We want to make sure we are absolutely ready, and with the uncertainty we are still facing, we have decided to wait until 2023 to host another Lemonade Day.

While it is on hold for a year, we are so proud of the work we have done during the pandemic! While 2021 was not the year many of us hoped, it was a year where we built a huge amount of capacity and put in place some amazing pieces for future Lemonade Days, including a mentoring partnership with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, an expanded workshop curriculum, and so much more. You can read more about it on our website: humboldt.lemonadeday.org.

We look forward to hosting an even bigger, better Lemonade Day in 2023! Save the Date for Humboldt Lemonade Day: Saturday, June 3rd, 2023. See you next year!

Website Lending Community About AEDC Contact Us

Arcata Economic Development Corporation

Fax: (707) 798-6130

Tel: (707) 798-6132

707 K Street, Eureka, CA 95501

Newsletter produced by

Allie Jones, Illuminated Marketing