Prescott, Camp Verde, Prescott Valley, Wickenburg, and County discussed overview of projects that are prime for those areas

On February 27, 2019 Yavapai Community College was a co-sponsor of an investment and development forum held on the Prescott campus from 11 AM to 2:30 PM.

The program was presented by  Brion H. Crum, VP of Wealth Development, Caliber Companies; Daniel Lupien, Principal, Palmer Development Company; Adam Rutherford, CPA, Schutte & Hilgendorf, PLLC; Brett D. Siglin, member, Jennings Strouss Robert Witt, Founder, The Opportunity Zone Development Company, LLC.   It was moderated by Wendy Bridges from the City of Prescott.

The City of Prescott, Town of Camp Verde, Town of Prescott Valley, Town of Wickenburg, and Yavapai County did a rapid fire overview of their opportunity zones and the types of projects that are prime for those areas.  They also met with city and town officials and property owners within the various Yavapai County QOZs.

Dr.  Rhine said meeting was the beginning of a  conversation about a “collaborative approach to economic development” for the County

About 90 persons gathered  at Yavapai College’s 2019 Economic Leadership Summit, held Tuesday, February 5, at the Prescott Club at Stoneridge. “Today is about starting a conversation,” said Yavapai College’s president, Dr. Lisa Rhine. We’re here today to begin the process of working, thinking and acting together – for the good of the economy and the citizens who call Yavapai County home.”

The event was sponsored by Yavapai College’s Regional Economic Development Center (REDC). It brought civic leaders together with local business owners, school superintendents and workforce analysts to identify existing economic trends and apply shared resources in response.

The summit began with a statistical portrait from Community College Institutional Research Director Dr. Tom Hughes. He described several “headwinds” preventing the county from expanding its industrial base: an aging population; low salaries and high housing prices that do not support a younger workforce; and a scarcity of the advanced training resources needed to compete in today’s job markets.

According to Trevor Stokes, from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, Yavapai County must favorably position itself for emerging industries. Stokes said their must be collaboration to create the lifestyle and educational amenities companies crave and to establish a “regional identity” to make the county more competitive. Stokes gave several examples of small communities coordinating resources – most notably, the eastern Tennessee towns that worked together to lure a Volkswagen plant. “Is this a community that could benefit from getting all your different organizations collaborating on a regular basis to create a regional strategy?” He asked.

College holds brainstorming program to boost construction workforce; press releases regarding Verde (no press release) and Prescott meetings another example of the difference in how two campuses are treated

Verde Valley industry leaders met on the Verde Valley Campus on December 15 to discuss training programs to bolster the construction workforce in the Verde Valley and Sedona. The purpose of the meeting was to ask building industry representatives for help crafting a plan to develop and retain a strong workforce to meet long-term industry needs.

In contrast to the meeting on the Prescott Campus in October, the College failed to issue a press release regarding the Verde Valley meeting containing details about the number who attended and any future plans that may have came out of the meeting.

See how different the College treated the Prescott meeting by going to the College web sight that you can access by clicking here.  

Also see Verde Independent Newspaper photo that appeared December 19, 2017 by clicking here. 

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