Many economic development groups engage in a series of workforce strategies, but how can you build excitement around it?

In this episode, Dennis and Jason talk about Grow Lee, the brand associated with the workforce strategies in Lee County, Iowa.  It started by convening a group of 70 stakeholders and deciding to launch 10 initiatives within the first 12 months.

Tune in to learn more about the process of convening, leading, and launching a series of workforce programming under a common brand.

Ever been in a slump?  Most of us perform at our best when our attitude and mood are strongest.  If we are honest, however, we all go through rough patches from time to time.

In this episode, Dennis and Jason share tips and tricks for staying motivated even when times are tough.

The audio in this podcast has some rough spots, but rest assured, we are improving the audio quality in episodes moving forward.  Thanks for listening.

Should your organization's newsletter be digital, printed, or both?  Dennis Fraise and Jason Hutcheson have some fun sparring off on the issue with the old guy advocating for digital and the young guy insisting on the printed version.

Although most everything is moving digital, this episode will give you something to think about.

Dayton, Ohio bounced back after the region lost 30,000 jobs due to declines in the automotive sector.  Erik Collins, Director of Community and Economic Development for Montgomery County, Ohio was a part of the leadership team to replace those positions.

Learn about some of the area's efforts to rebuild including bolstering the warehousing/logistics sector through business recruitment, conducting a supply chain analysis, building the talent pipeline, and fostering regional collaboration.

Are your companies tired of multiple stakeholders calling on them?  Erik Collins led the charge to align everyone in the Dayton, OH area to build a robust BRE call program that has generated over 7,000 visits with private sector companies.

In this episode, Dennis interviews Erik, who serves as the Director of Community and Economic Development Department for Montgomery County, Ohio - a county of more than 500,000.

Although 7,000 calls sounds impressive, it is more than just the one-on-one conversations.  Stemming from the BRE visits, they have put together additional programming like business sector roundtables, resource rallies, and business walks.

Have you heard of these things called Opportunity Zones?  More than 8,000 of them exist in low-income Census tracts, and there are incredible tax benefits for real estate and business investors.

In this episode, Dennis and Jason provide a brief overview of Opportunity Zones including the early guidance from the Internal Revenue Service.

List of Designated Opportunity Zones

IRS FAQ

Mary Ann Moon has spent the majority of her career serving the economic development industry in one form or another- even while working in the private sector.  Today, she volunteers as the Dean of the University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute.

In this episode, Dennis scores a terrific interview Mary Ann and leads her through a series of questions on a variety of topics.  Gain her perspective on building a career in an industry traditionally dominated by men.  Also, learn why she is so passionate about the transportation industry and hear advice for learning more about transportation and logistics.

A non-profit organization can not implement its mission without a solid financial footing.  In this episode, Dennis and Jason discuss the lessons they have learned from 5 successful economic development fundraising campaigns.

Learn the basics of fundraising including perspective on using outside, professional fundraising consultants.

Recruiting top talent to your board of directors and your staff team can transform the organization.  In this episode, Jason and Dennis visit with Jay Byers, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, about the power of strong community leaders and collective vision.

Jay is a wealth of knowledge and shares insight on a number of topics including national rankings, regionalism, community visioning, and accountability with volunteer groups.

Learn more about the Greater Des Moines Partnership and its lead role in transforming the regional economy.

It is estimated that only 8% of today's 9th graders are likely to secure a living wage job immediately after earning a university education despite accumulating crushing levels of student loan debt.

In the final episode of this interview with Dr. Kevin Fleming, Dennis asks a variety of questions about the way we must look at skilled trades and education in the future.

Learn about the five R's in education:

Reading
Wriging
Arithmetic
Relevance
Reality

Be sure to check out Kevin's book called '(RE)Defining the Goal' and his resource page: Kevin Fleming Resources