Develop This: Economic and Community Development

In Part 2 of this episode, Dennis brings contributing expert Judy McKinney Cherry, CEcD, on the show to discuss strategies for helping local business through this difficult time.  She shares some great ideas for providing leadership to the business community.

McKinney Cherry serves as the Executive Director of the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development and the CEO/CFO for the Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency in the State of New York.

More About Judy McKinney Cherry:

Ms. McKinney Cherry has experience working in the private sector, public sector and university settings with over 30 years of business and executive management experience. Ms. McKinney Cherry was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council in 2015, is passionate about regionalism and regularly contributes her expertise to other New York communities seeking to employ innovation and best practices.

McKinney Cherry is a supplemental professional for the University of Delaware Center for Applied Demographics and Survey Research (CADSR) where she provides subject matter expertise for economic development-related publications.

Connect with Judy McKinney Cherry

In Part 1 of this episode, Dennis brings contributing expert Judy McKinney Cherry, CEcD, on the show to discuss strategies for helping local business through this difficult time.  She shares some great ideas for providing leadership to the business community.

McKinney Cherry serves as the Executive Director of the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development and the CEO/CFO for the Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency in the State of New York.

More About Judy McKinney Cherry:

Ms. McKinney Cherry has experience working in the private sector, public sector and university settings with over 30 years of business and executive management experience. Ms. McKinney Cherry was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council in 2015, is passionate about regionalism and regularly contributes her expertise to other New York communities seeking to employ innovation and best practices.

McKinney Cherry is a supplemental professional for the University of Delaware Center for Applied Demographics and Survey Research (CADSR) where she provides subject matter expertise for economic development-related publications.

Connect with Judy McKinney Cherry

In this episode, Dennis continues with his series from contributing experts on the current state of the economy.

Few leaders have more insight and encouraging words than Ron Kitchens of Southwest Michigan First.

About Ron Kitchens:

Ron’s focus is to lift up leaders by accelerating their impact, influence and well-being in career, family and community.

Ron is the senior partner and chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First, an economic consulting firm, which has grown compounded revenue at 20% annually during his 14 years as chief executive officer. In addition, Ron is the co-founder of Consultant Connect and a board member of Gibson Insurance, the past chair of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and a Trustee of Western Michigan University.

Ron is the founder of the leadership conferences Engage, Next, ECONOMIX and Catalyst University, which combined have poured into over 60,000 leaders across North America. He previously served on the staff of U.S Senator John Danforth, and he was an elected Alderman at age 21.

Ron is author/co-author of three books, including his latest release Uniquely You, as well as the bestseller Community Capitalism. He speaks globally on leadership, creating thriving, engaged, multi-generational teams and entrepreneurial cultures. He blogs and podcasts at www.ronkitchens.com and can be found on Twitter @ronkitchens and on Instagram @ron.kitchens.

Ron’s Specialties:

• Leadership
• Creating thriving, engaged, multi-generational teams
• Entrepreneurial cultures

Connect with Ron Kitchens

Southwest Michigan First

RonKitchens.com

In these uncertain times, it is important for organizations to be strategic with their financial resources.

Will your organization's budget be impacted by a loss of government revenue or a delay of payments from members or investors?

While there are many things that likely have your focus right now, spending some time on budget forecasting could prove valuable.

In this episode, Dennis and Jason share tips and strategies for managing the organization's budget moving forward.

If you are working from home now, perhaps you using this time to evaluate new tools for organizational excellence.

In this episode, Dennis interviews Clark Smith with ED Lead Tracker which is a customer relationship management (CRM) tool designed just for the economic development industry.  Learn about better ways to manage data and get a handle on your lead pipeline.

Clark Smith has almost 30 years of economic development experience. Clark began his economic development career as executive director of the Hampton Area Chamber and Development Corporation. He then joined the Iowa Department of Economic Development working as a community consultant and manager of existing industry. Most recently, Clark was the director of economic development for Aquila, Inc. – Iowa.

He has worked with hundreds of companies providing site selection/expansion assistance. Clark has been President of the Professional Developers of Iowa and the Community Development Society of Iowa. Clark also managed and owned a trade association business and started Butler House on Grand Bed and Breakfast with his wife Lauren and is a Partner with SSG.

[email protected]

Connect with Clark Smith

Smart Solutions Group

ED Lead Tracker

In this episode, Dennis continues with his series from contributing experts on the economic development response to COVID-19.

Quentin L. Messer Jr., CEcD is the President and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance and returns to the show to talk leadership, disruption, and recovery from a community that has learned much about recovering from natural disasters.

Quentin's Bio:

As the leader of the accredited economic development organization (AEDO) focused on growing the Orleans Parish economy, Quentin leads initiatives and programs related to making New Orleans the most attractive city of its size for financial and human capital investment. These initiatives and programs are conducted across four workstreams: business attraction/retention, small business growth, talent and workforce development and strategic neighborhood development. He was named by Biz New Orleans as Businessperson of the Year (2019, Consultants Connect as one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers (2019) and selected by Ebony Magazine’s for its Ebony Power 100 as a Power Player (2018). Immediately prior to joining NOLABA, Quentin was the Assistant Secretary for Louisiana Economic Development, (LED) the state department of economic development. To learn more about the Business Alliance, please visit, www.nolaba.org.

Quentin’s Specialties:

• Leading public-private economic development organizations
• Managing change including combining economic development and workforce development
• Economic growth is not necessarily synonymous with the expansion of economic opportunity
• Diversity and Inclusion in the Economic Development Profession
• Diversity and Inclusion Considerations in Economic Development Practice
• Deciding to pursue Accredited Economic Development Organization status

Connect with Quentin Messer Jr.

In this episode, Dennis and Jason discuss some of the organizational concerns that can emerge in a crisis including the toll on people, finances, and the plan of work.  They offer some thoughts for framing the current situation and thinking through organizational change over the next year.

In this special episode, Dennis connects with Jeff Finkle, President & CEO of the International Economic Development Council.

You will hear some updates from IEDC and its efforts to assist local economic development professionals through this difficult period.  Jeff will also share some thoughts regarding the long-term impacts of this crisis on the economic development industry.

Connect with Jeff Finkle, CEcD

Restore Your Economy

International Economic Development Council

Jeff Finkle's Bio:

As President and CEO of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Jeff Finkle is a recognized leader and authority on economic development. With the formation of IEDC in 2001 following the merger of the Council for Urban Economic Development (CUED) - where he was president for 15 years - and the American Economic Development Council (AEDC), Jeff set the course for a more effective and influential organization. Today IEDC is the world's largest economic development membership organization and is a $5 million annual operation that is renowned for its leadership in professionalizing and diversifying the field of economic development.

Jeff previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and has received numerous awards over the years for his commitment to making sustainable economic development a priority in communities of all sizes. Significantly, in 2011 he was lauded by the U.S. Department of Commerce for his 25 years of stewardship over CUED and IEDC. Moreover, as a longtime leader in community service and philanthropy, in 2005 Jeff organized 250 economic development volunteers to work in Gulf Coast communities endeavoring to recover from Hurricane Katrina. In 1989 he also founded the Bollinger Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to children who have lost a parent who worked in the field of economic development.

A frequent lecturer and author of numerous articles, Jeff has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, Fox television and the Journal Report on PBS. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications in 1976 from Ohio University in Athens and pursued graduate studies in business administration at Ohio State University. He maintains a strong connection with Ohio University’s Voinovich School for Leadership and Public Affairs.

Develop This! is excited to bring back Master Facilitator Michael Wilkinson as a contributing expert. Not only is Michael a Master Facilitator, he’s the author of Click - The Virtual Meetings Book.

With almost all our meetings moving online, now is the perfect time to hear from a world class expert on how to run and facilitate effective on-line meetings. Join Dennis and Michael as they discuss practical tips to improve your online meetings.

Connect with Michael Wilkinson

Develop This! continues this new series of shows to help working economic developers gain a better understanding of the COVID-19 crisis and its impact nationwide.

Today's episode features contributing expert Kenny McDonald, CEcD, President & CEO of One Columbus and the current IEDC Board Chair.

Kenny has served as president and chief economic officer of One Columbus, formerly Columbus 2020, since the organization’s inception in 2010. He has helped lead the execution of the One Columbus Regional Growth Strategy and development of the Columbus Region’s competitiveness agenda, and he has also built local and national partnerships that have accelerated the area’s development.

Kenny has over 20 years of regional economic development and management consulting experience focused on helping companies develop and execute their location strategies and helping communities achieve their goals.

McDonald has an extensive economic development background, having held positions in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and New Mexico. He was also a principal consultant at Fluor’s Global Locations Strategies unit, working with companies to evaluate locations across North America, Asia and Europe.

More About Kenny McDonald

More About IEDC