Last week, western North Carolina was impacted by a hurricane that initially made its landfall in Florida. A facility that manufactures an important part of our medical supplies in the United States was among the devastation. We also narrowly avoided a strike at our country’s most critical ports of entry. Nearly every week we can point to examples of where we must build more resilient infrastructure for the future. Climate change, a re-ordered geopolitical environment, conflicts in critical shipping channels, and the surge of AI technology are contributing to the urgency of our work to build roads, bridges, public and private utilities, transit systems, broadband and electric charging stations, manufacturing capacity, a modern electric grid, and so much more.
This all costs a lot of money in the short run, and someone must pay. We are in one of those moments when all this needs to happen for our long-term gain and other important priorities must be sacrificed to get it done while protecting the most vulnerable communities. Economic development organizations are on the front lines of trying to prepare for all this change and are in a unique position to bring the public and private sectors together to get it done. Striking a balance between cost and competitiveness is extremely important. It is in times like these that the economic developer’s voice must be heard. Build too much and you cannot compete or maintain affordable communities. Build too little and the same is true. The voice of the customer and the resident is important as we build and urgently work to solve these issues.
My advice for economic developers is to fight to have your voice heard and get a seat at the table. You have a unique perspective and ability to bring parties together. I challenge our economic development industry to do so with objective data and customer perspectives by your side. My advice to community partners is to listen to those who are closest to the customer, especially as technology and business are changing so rapidly.
Let’s have a great week, lift each other up, and move forward together.
Kenny McDonald
President and CEO
Columbus Partnership