By Lori Weston
I am often asked, “What, exactly is it that you do anyway?” I find myself stammering a bit because I can’t give a quick and simple answer! How can one summarize community and economic development and the process of grant writing, in a passionate manner so that the person asking just doesn’t walk away confused?
Though the two words, economic and community are often combined to describe the job, “Economic Development” has been defined as “the process by which a community creates, retains, and reinvests wealth and improves the quality of life” (David Dotson, MDC, Inc). A majority of people see economic development as simply recruiting new businesses or industry into a community. The reality is that bringing both economic health and prosperity to a community requires more than just getting a company or retail store to move here.
It’s all about a community that has a strong foundation. A community and its economic strength is created by the number of leaders it has and how they all work together, how they talk, brainstorm, make decisions and act. It is a matter of attitude and focus.
We just happen to live in a community that is easy to promote. We have that strong foundation. Look at the longevity some of our iconic businesses like Houlton Farms Dairy, Dunn Furniture Store, Cole’s Shoe Store and Town and Country Clothing. Houlton is comprised of some of the most incredibly brave and brilliant people around; brave because no matter what the news of gloom and doom of the economy, they remain determined to keep businesses open or to start one and brilliant because they think outside of the box to do so.
Economic development is more than a person in an office, it is each one of us preserving, promoting and improving our community’s many attributes, its educational system, how the community looks physically and its civic life. All are critical parts of economic and community development.
I remain ever impressed with the numbers of people who step up to contribute to committees, boards and functions that make our community a better place to live, play, work and visit. These are folks, who after a long, tiring day, go out again to make things happen for the betterment of all of us.
As for me and what I do? I have the privilege of daily promoting our community to those who are looking to relocate a business here, start a business, expand a business, build a business or inquire about rental space and give them the resource information to help them get started. I answer questions about tax incremental financing programs or the revolving loan program. I listen to business owners’ concerns about a myriad of things that we work to solve together. I communicate and coordinate with a variety of local groups and individuals as they endeavor to plan events for the community that will bring people into our community.
Working with state, county and local organizations on development ideas is extremely beneficial and generally is the catalyst to an idea not previously considered. Networking with other communities and understanding what is working for them and how or if that same success would work for us is extremely valuable. I serve on boards that are community-based, county-based and state-based. The connections between them all are critical to being aware of what is happening around us.
Grant writing is an animal of another color! It is intense and requires collaboration and a great deal of time and writing. Searching for applicable grants to apply for is challenging and interesting. A grant becomes a part of one’s being, even putting it in the mail, unattended as it travels, is worrisome and then you wait. Patience is a virtue and I struggle with it. Grant funding, as a whole, has diminished over recent years making them more difficult to find and get. My goal is keep searching and applying!
There are exciting things happening in Houlton. Amongst us are people who are working to create fun, family events; building their businesses; investing in our youth; starting new businesses; working to always improve what we have and for all of the right reasons.
Lori Weston is Houlton’s director of economic and community development. She can be reached at 532-7111 or via e-mail at comm.development@houlton-maine.com.
