ord sunshine pumpers

Newsweek has great coverage of a new book out, Hollowing Out the Middle, which takes an in-depth look at the implications of brain drain and how rural communities can address the challenge of losing their best and brightest.

Many of you know me by now – I’m not a native of the area, my wife and I have been here a year now and we love it.  LOVE IT.  We also believe this community is and will continue to be a leader in rural opportunities because of one simple phenomenon:  positive change.  We’ve written about the impact of positive change here, here and here.  The infectious attitude is prevalent wherever you look.  We are lucky to be in a community that continues to invest in itself:  civic, community and economic.  This impact has created a community that is primed to tackle brain drain head-on.

The lessons to be learned from Hollowing?  There are many, and in Valley County we’ve nailed them all and in many respects are ahead of the curve with respect  job creation, educational engagement and long-term investment.

I’ll leave you with this from the article.  As a community, we’ve been able to deliver on several mechanisms that provide a pathway to deal with the hallowing effect.  Have a look at how far ahead we really are:

But there are people maybe with young families or who tried urban living and wanted to opt out and try something else, who could be lured to the region—maybe not every 22-year-old, but maybe a 32-year-old who would think, “This is great. I can raise my kids, I can buy a gigantic house. And as long as I have the digital infrastructure, I can telecommute. I can have a very good quality of life.” I think the lifestyle rural communities have to offer is really more compatible for young families. There are also ways to lure back professionals through more aggressive tuition breaks for medical students [in exchange for a commitment to return to the community after graduation], which I think is going to become more appealing as students take on more and more debt. And finally, the other thing we want to talk about is pushing the development of our community-college students, creating that infrastructure to match up economic demands for the regional economy with the young people who are most likely to stay.

As I questioned earlier this week, there’s a catch to the 3.5% GDP growth:  consumers aren’t spending.  Personally, I don’t think this is entirely bad.  Americans are overextended and their personal wealth is pretty pathetic when compared to other industrialized nations.  I think a change in behavior, modeled after Nebraskan fiscal conservatism, is a good thing.  America could use a dose of Nebraskan medicine.  The challenge will be measuring economic output and relative strength that isn’t directly connected to a consumer culture.  Right now the American economy is driven by consumer spending – 70% of the GDP is because of consumer spending.  Let me ask this – if the spender, the average American, is up to their neck in debt, why is that a good thing as part of the GDP?

There is a reason this economic downtown is more fundamental than we’re letting on.  It’s a correction of bad behavior, something long overdue.  Personally, we gotta get out of our head this idea that collecting a large horde of stuff is a good thing…

The GI Independent has a story this snowy morning about the U.S. Census Bureau’s need for workers.  The details:

Wanted: Five thousand job applicants so the U.S. Census can find 1,000 good men and women.

Gentry said he would like people who are interested in working for the U.S. Census Bureau to call Bobbi Thompson at the North Platte office telephone number, (308) 221-3040. He said people who contact Thompson will be put on a call list so they will receive a telephone call giving them the time, date and site for the test to be administered to applicants.

If you’re looking for extra work, get them a shout.

We reported a couple days ago that the federal government released information that the economy is growing.  Using the Gross Domestic Product, they estimate that as of the 3rd quarter, the economy is clocking in at over 3% growth.  Here’s my question for you:  is the GDP a good indicator of growth?  What is a better estimate if not the GDP?  Remember, through the recession, China experienced steady 7% growth whilst the world economy contracted.  That’s something to think about.

Invest Nebraska is holding a statewide venture competition this winter.  The prize?  $50,000 of start-up cash for your business idea or existing business needs.  Silicon Prairie News has the scoop:

• It will take place on December 11th in Lincoln at the Del Ray Ballroom in Lincoln’s Haymarket.

• Open to anyone 18 or older who is interested in operating a business in the state of Nebraska; all entrepreneurs with a startup idea, as well as local business owners looking to expand or improve their businesses.

• The Competitions are based on the success of the annual Hormel Family Foundation’s Business Plan Competition in McCook, Nebraska. It was the goal of Invest Nebraska Corp. to take this template to other Nebraska communities, allowing others an opportunity to carry the Nebraskan tradition of entrepreneurship forward.

To learn more, check out the competition info here.  Get after it Loup Valley Entrepreneurs!

So says the government.  The GDP is clocking in at 3% growth at the moment but a lagging indicator, employment, is still dismal.  Unemployment is poised to break 10% next week.

We’ve been lucky in Valley County.  We’re far, far below those unemployment trends (we’re at 2.5%) and our retail sales grew over the past year.  Many contrary trends to those found nationally.  Let’s hope it continues.

Our Fall Quarterly Report is available here.  Some nice nuggets on our local business development efforts, entreprenuership, the community college and many others.

Enjoy!

Brown’s His/Her Side will be hosting a business after hours next Friday, October 30th from 5-7 pm.  Appetizers and beverages will be served, and you can take a peek at the new Holiday inventory that has arrived.

See you there!

My apologies for the lack of  postings lately.  I’ve been out of the office nearly all week at the Nebraska Travel and Tourism annual conference, *and* fighting illness along with rest of my family.  Not good!  Wash your hands kids, and if you’re sick, stay home!

I did have the opportunity to present with two other panelists at the conference, Steph Romanski from the GI Independent and Dawn Ream, Marketing and Comunications Director @ the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo.  Our focus was social media and its impact on communications in a socially wired world.   I shared the good news found in Ord, shots from our new website and many other bits of info from our efforts as of late.  You can peek at my presentation here.  Attendee feedback was positive and we entertained a packed house with our social media soapbox.  Good times!

At VCED, we have a multitude of other activities coming up as well:  our quarterly report will be released this coming week, the Economic Development Board is meeting Wednesday @ noon (welcome back Helen Cullers!), and an associate, Tim Erickson, will be joining us to talk about solutions to address business challenges in Valley County.  This corresponds with a suvey we developed a couple months ago developing online tools to promote Chamber businesses and increase local business development opportunities.  You can refresh your memory on that survey here.

We have a handful of other projects simmering as well – many in relation to the deployment of the expanded Ord Learning Center with CCC.  We’ve applied for an RCDI grant with the USDA Rural Development to deploy a rural entrepreneurship academy.  While there is no guarantee we’ll win the grant, there is a good chance this could go a long way in establishing an innovative educational framework to grow more local entrepreneurs.  Stay tuned!

The Central Community College expansion is underway.  You can see a couple photos we snapped of the center below.  A huge thanks needs to be given for the services hours donated by Dave Ferrence and Mitch Bredthauer’s vocational ag classes.  Many thanks!!!

We expect the center to be operational in January.  We’ll have updates available as they come along and dates to share when we have a grand opening set.  Stay tuned!