Consortium continues to flourish

The Cass County Economic Development Consortium met again on Wednesday, June 12. The group is comprised of local leaders who have a direct impact on the economic development of Cass County. The group is composed of economic developers, city managers, the County Judge and other city officials who have a vested interest in the growth of the local economy.

The meetings happen at noon bi-monthly and are hosted each time at a different City, typically a local restaurant. This time it was hosted at the future Stryks BBQ in Linden. The meetings usually involve a roundtable that includes networking, and sharing successes and challenges. It also includes speakers that have an effect or can help the communities in Cass County to grow. This time the speaker was Rob Sitterley, President and CEO or AR/TX Regional Economic Development INC.

Linden City Manager Lee Elliott saw the need for a group like this when he first started his position.

“The first year I was in Linden, I noticed there was not much communication between the cities and county in Cass County. With all of us having small populations and with Linden struggling with economic development, I decided to send an email to Judge Ransom and the EDC Directors in Cass County to see if they would be open to meeting. Having great leadership in Cass County, I believe everyone involved embraced the thesis that we are better together to improve the local economic ecosystem.”

Since Cass County can be a little fish in the big sea of Texas, Lee said working together with other local leaders was essential for maximum impact.

“Communication and partnering together to improve the quality of life and economy of Cass County. If we work together, instead of apart, we have many more opportunities to improve the local economy and provide jobs and services for our citizens in Cass County.”

Cass County Judge Travis Ransom agreed. “The purpose of the consortium is to build relationships between the cities within Cass County and create a shared understanding of economic development-related projects and challenges. With a coalition approach, we also share resources and information which benefits the entire county.

“We don’t live in a static environment but a very dynamic world which is constantly changing. Groups like this allow us to share information between cities and other stakeholders. We also bring in outside expertise to the group to discuss regional efforts related to workforce and economic development.”

For Lee, there have been some successes already. “Being published in the Texas Municipal League (TML) monthly Town and City magazine about our innovation and then being one of six communities receiving an innovation award from the TML. Partnering with Cass County, we were able to keep a local saw-mill from leaving Cass County and locating near Linden. This retention success provides thirty jobs. The bi-monthly meetings always provide insight to what is occurring within our county. “

“This group has already exceeded my expectations. We partnered early to become a voting member of the Tex-21 transportation group which is focused on transportation infrastructure in Texas. I’m also encouraged that our programs and attendance continue to be very good,” said Ransom.

Lee also believes the group is on the right track. “My initial expectations were for the group to just begin communicating amongst the County and EDCs. I would say we far exceeded this initial goal. Avinger has generated an EDC and joined with us. Personnel from the Small Business Development Center and Texas Workforce Center are meeting with us.“ Moving forward, Lee believes that there has already been a “great base of communicating with each other. One item we would like to develop is regional marketing materials for Cass County which includes all of the cities. We will be working on more educational seminars being brought in locally. Hopefully, over the next year, we all can possibly begin to work together to proactively recruit some targeted businesses. One item we all have a huge connection to highway improvement and connectivity.

Ransom says he would “ultimately, like to shift from a passive economic development response to a more targeted and proactive effort. We respond very well to inquiries regarding infrastructure and workforce availability when approached but I’d like to take a more methodical and data- driven approach to going after those businesses which would be a good fit for our community.”

Lee in closing said as the creator of the consortium he would “like to say thanks to Judge Ransom and all of the EDC’s (Atlanta, Avinger, Hughes Springs, Linden and Queen City) for coming together and partnering to make Cass County better. We truly are better together and if a job is created in Atlanta, it helps Linden and vice versa. While regional economic development is the best approach for all, unfortunately, this does not always come to fruition because of competition. I believe Judge Ransom and the EDC groups have shown an amazing amount of leadership to generate an innovative approach in rural Northeast Texas to improve the quality of life and economic ecosystem for our citizens by partnering.”

The group has now met about ten times and has included hosts from Red River Army Depot, Swepco, and even the Journal-Sun.