By Daily Republic staff From page A1 |
April 20, 2017
FAIRFIELD — The Solano Economic Development
Corporation announced a shift in focus Wednesday that will include a new
president and chief executive along with an effort to boost the organization’s
funding.
Sandy Person will soon leave the organization as
it implements a new program this summer, according to a press release from the
nonprofit economic development alliance. Recruitment for her replacement is
underway.
The shift in leadership comes after two years of
planning by the organization to launch Solano Means Business, which is
described in the press release as an aggressive strategy with clear-cut tactics
to attract new jobs and companies. The plan calls for a larger budget
for recruitment efforts, a marketing campaign to reach key targets and a
transition to new leadership, according to the release.
Directors of the Solano Economic Development
Corporation will be asked in May to endorse a new $500,000 budget to
fund enhanced business attraction efforts, including a comprehensive website
that gives companies looking to relocate or expand a full description
of available development site in Solano County’s cities, according to the
press release. The website will feature demographics of the county, its
workforce, the quality of life in Solano County’s communities and other
promotional messages.
Person chose not to continue as the
organization’s president and chief executive as this planned shift in focus
gains steam late this summer.
“Solano Means Business, is a long-term strategy
that will take a year to fully operationalize, and several more years to
optimize,” Person said in the release. “I wholeheartedly support it. It’s best
for the community. It’s what Solano EDC should be doing. But it’s a serious
change in focus for the CEO and some different skills are essential.”
The organization saw success during the Great
Recession and its aftermath in retaining existing businesses and ensuring
the viability of Travis Air Force Base amid threats of federal budget cutting
leading to military base closures, Person said in the release.
“Those,” she said, “became my passion and my
strengths.”
Person said the change in focus, and what that
means for the organization’s chief executive, prompted her decision to
step aside.
“The organization is embarking on a rigorous new
path, in a better economy, with an emphasis on business recruitment, which
means the CEO will do a great deal of travel throughout the region and state,”
Person said in the release. “While I want to be on a path with challenges and
opportunities, I do not feel I can commit to such a long-term obligation.”
Person, who began at the economic development
corporation 16 years ago, said Wednesday during a conference call that “I did a
lot of soul-searching.”
Louise Walker, chairwoman of the
organization’s board of directors, said Person’s decision was unsettling.
“After all,” Walker said in the release,
“Sandy’s been not just the face of Solano EDC, but its backbone and its heart.
Still, I respect her for seeing how her transition at this time would be the best timing – for her and us.”
“We hope she’ll still be involved in some way,”
Walker said Wednesday of Person and the organization.
The shift to a marketing focus that targets
bringing new employers and jobs to the area does not mean the organization will
lose sight of its previous priorities, according to the release.
“Solano EDC will not ignore business retention,
support for Travis Air Force Base and legislative advocacy on behalf of local
employers,” Steve Huddleston, the board’s immediate past president, said in the
release. “I hope, we might find there’s a role for Sandy in those efforts in
conjunction with us. She is so strong in those areas.”
The board will work to recruit what’s described
as in the release as a “business recruitment guru,” as well as fashion a
sustainable budget and build more support among private-sector members, to
include additional financial support, according to the release.
“We have ambitious goals,” Huddleston said
in the release. “To achieve them we need new financial support from business
members, public sector partners in cities and county government, and anywhere
else we can find it.”
The target to have a new chief executive in
place in late summer, according to the release. Website development
continues in the interim, as does the creation of marketing materials.
Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine said Wednesday
that he spoke Monday with Person about her decision.
“She’s done a wonderful job with EDC,” Augustine
said. “I hope she’s available to help us in Vacaville.”
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