Amanda Beadles absolutely loves the small town of Chillicothe, Illinois. That's good because she's their local economic developer, and small town econ dev can be difficult without the right mental attitude.

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Special Guest: Amanda Beadles.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

Links:

• The City of Chillicothe
• In the Spotlight - Amanda Beadles
• How a cozy Illinois town rejuvenated its unsightly downtown buildings — Two decades later, how Chillicothe's TIF district has revitalized the city's downtown: However, the town's taxing bodies didn't agree on an extension for another four years.
• As Chillicothe TIF district expires, economic leaders look back at its impact
• Chillicothe businesses are seeing improvements, renovations thanks to TIF funds
• Triple Dipple's Treats and Delicacies
• Amanda Beadles | LinkedIn
• City of Chillicothe Economic Development

Dane talks with Amanda Ellis, Editor in Chief of Livability.com, about marketing your community for economic development and talent attraction. Amanda hosts the Inside America’s Best Cities podcast, writes the Let’s Talk Talent newsletter.

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Special Guest: Amanda Ellis.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

Links:

• Livability.com
• Livability Media
• Best Places to Live in the US in 2022 Ranked
• Livability Media Whitepapers — Research on American relocation habits
• Livability's Let's Talk Talent Monthly Newsletter
• Inside America’s Best Cities Podcast

Paul DiGiuseppe still considers himself a newcomer to economic development, but Paul has an incredible, contagious, passion for the industry.

Now the Director of Economic and Community Development at the Town of Middleborough, Massachusetts, he started in the industry four years ago, in a different small town, with no experience in economic development, but with 25 years of city planning in a variety of cities across the county.

About a year and a half into his job, he realized that he didn't understand and know enough about econ dev.

And then COVID hit.

He was totally unprepared and wasn't ready to help his local businesses struggling to keep their doors open.

While receiving COVID funding information from the state and feds, he had no good way of communicating with his businesses. This kept him up at night.

Finally, with the help of many people both inside the town and out, as well as podcasts, websites, books, etc., he grew to better understand his role in economic development.

As a result, today, he's more focused than ever. He spends his days connecting with his business community and doing business attraction.

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Special Guest: Paul DiGiuseppe.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

Links:

• Paul DiGiuseppe | LinkedIn
• Economic & Community Development | Middleborough, MA
• Middleborough Business Resource Center
• Middleborough, MA... We Mean Business!
• Market Analysis & Business District Assessment: Downtown Middleborough
• Middleborough On The Move
• Cranberry Country Chamber of Commerce

In this short snippet of an episode Dane talks with Paul DiGiuseppe, who explains what to do in your first 90 days on the job.

Paul is the is the Director of Economic and Community Development at Town of Middleborough, Massachusetts.

This is part one of Dane's conversation with Paul.

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Special Guest: Paul DiGiuseppe.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

Links:

• Paul DiGiuseppe on LinkedIn
• The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

This is part two of conversation with J.R. Charles.

In this episode, J.R. shares his incredible war story and explains the nobility of the economic development profession.

J.R. explains:

One of my biggest projects came when I was informed about a looming bankruptcy for one of our manufactuers (I'd like to keep the companies anonymous). Rather than let the company liquidate, I worked with the facility's manager to identify another company which bought out that insolvent manufacturer. The new company acquired the insolvent company on Feb 14, 2020 (we called it the best Valentine's present our community could recieve), and one month later, COVID hit and my wife and I welcomed our son into the world.

I worked with the new company's corporate and legal team via weekly zoom meetings to negotiate the incentive deal; at the same time, I kept our elected officials informed as they were dealing with quarantine protocols, face mask orders, and public health initiatives.

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Special Guest: J.R. Charles.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

In this episode, we play the first part of a conversation between Dane and J.R. Charles, the Community Development Director for the City of Mauldin, South Carolina.

In their wide-ranging conversation, J.R. explains how to best take advantage of memberships in state and regional associations.

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Special Guest: J.R. Charles.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

Links:

• City of Mauldin
• J.R. Charles | LinkedIn
• J.R. Charles' Resume / Portfolio

Beka Burton recently failed her CEcD exam, and she's here to talk about it. She doesn't think about it as failing. She just found a way that didn't work.

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Special Guest: Beka Burton.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

Links:

• I Recently Failed...
• CEDIK - Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky
• Beka Burton | LinkedIn

Dane talks with Kevin Leighty, Economic Development Director in the Village of Oswego, Illinois.

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Special Guest: Kevin Leighty.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

Links:

• Economic Development Commission | Village of Oswego, Illinois
• Kevin R. Leighty | LinkedIn
• New Economic Development Director Hired For Village Of Oswego | Oswego, IL Patch

In this episode, Dane talks with Steve Griffin of Finger Lakes EDC.

Steve's rural New York community has gone from a sleepy little community to leading their metro region by percentage growth in nearly every single economic category in the last 15 years. Here's how he did it.

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Special Guest: Steve Griffin.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.

Links:

• Finger Lakes EDC
• Steve Griffin | LinkedIn
• FLEDC on BBC World Business Report — Starts at about 1 minute
• Steve does a monthly interview on a local radio station — Here's a recent clip.
• Steve Griffin Discusses Economic Development in Yates & FLX .::. Sunday Conversation 3/24/19 - YouTube

Economic development consultant Andy Portera answers the question: When you're brought into a community, what do you advise them to do first.

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Special Guest: Andy Portera.

Sponsored By:

• Econ Dev Pro: Upgrade your subscription and support the Econ Dev Show with a paid membership. Plus AI in Economic Development and other bonuses.