HOTEDD Board of Directors, April 2011

HOTEDD Board of Directors, April 2011

What is the Heart of Texas Economic Development District?

HOTEDD delivers information, collaboration, coordination, and training among economic developers, communities, businesses, and individuals in our service area: Bosque, Falls, Freestone, Hill, Limestone, and McLennan Counties. The Honorable Justin Lewis chairs our Board; our President is Russell Devorsky.







Friday, April 23, 2010

Successful Forum Held in Marlin

The Economic Development Forum hosted by the Marlin, Rosebud, and Lott Chambers of Commerce on April 20 was a pleasure to attend. The venue, the historic Allen House, was a beautiful reminder of the rich history of the Heart of Texas Region. Denny Lessman and others from Marlin and Falls County shared reasons past and present for their pride in their communities.
Bobby Gierisch of Texas Rural Innovators facilitated a discussion among the communities represented, in which each highlighted areas of current community and economic development activity. Golinda, for example, has contracted with a private company to clean up all the city's streets. Fairfield recently added over 100 acres to its industrial park. Community events in Rosebud and Mexia bring visitors and overnight guests to those communities, and Marlin has begin a revitalization effort combining outside expertise with local know-how and commitment to the community.
After the forum and excellent luncheon catered by John and Cynthia Dees, the golfers of the group adjourned to the Marlin Country Club for a round of nine.
Thanks so much to those who hosted and attended this successful event!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

We Remember Sharon Barnes

When I first met Sharon Barnes, we were working together as advocates for our region in creating the Texas Brazos Trail Region. Her knowledge, energy, and commitment to Groesbeck and to economic development were inspiring to me.
Over the following ten years, my admiration for Sharon grew: she continued to work, to advocate, to think creatively and to work for her community. And she continued to fight cancer, holding it at bay while she lived an extraordinary life.
Sharon passed away just before Easter. Her fight is over, but I and HOTEDD remember her and honor her legacy.

Friday, April 9, 2010

We're All A-Twitter!

This marks the first day of HOTEDD's online presence, and we look forward to hearing from the region. In addition to the blog space, users of Facebook can become fans of Heart of Texas Economic Development District, and users of Twitter can follow us by our username, HOTEcDevDist.

We plan to use this blog to communicate news and information, to post resources such as economic development tools and strategies, and to discuss ongoing projects and initiatives.

In the coming months, viewers can expect to see posts on the evaluation of different online data tools, resources for responding to leads, and business retention and expansion strategies.

I hope you find the blog helpful! Please let us know how to make it valuable to you.

-Megan Henderson