Economic forum focuses on regional growth

'Whole area' represented

as professionals gather together

COLUMBIA BASIN - There were more economic development professionals in attendance at an economic development forum Tuesday morning than some professionals had ever seen at one time.

Roughly 40 people were in attendance for the Columbia Basin Economic Development Forum, put on by the Big Bend Economic Development Council, the Grant County Economic Development Council, the Adams County Development Council, Big Bend Community College, the college's Center For Business and Industry Services and the Lincoln County Economic Development Council.

In the first half of the forum, audience members heard from Tri County Economic Development District Loan Officer Robert Willford, Grant County Public Utilities District Commissioner Terry Brewer and North Columbia Community Action Council Executive Director Ken Sterner about loan programs and other programs available to aspiring businesses, like the action council's prosperity center, which Sterner said is still in the beginning process and designed to help get people ready to own a business.

Brewer said he was pleased to see people in the audience from all over the area.

"I think every one of you is probably just as committed as I am to partnering," he said. "We can't, any of us, do this stuff alone. We don't have the resources, the capacities, but by working together, whether it's across community borders within our own county or across the county lines with our neighbors, we need to do that whenever we can. Economic development is a regional need for us, we cannot look at ourselves as an island and be successful."

"In this room today there is so much expertise in economic development; frankly this is more than I've ever seen in our three counties in one room, and I think that's terrific," Sterner said. "If we can call upon each individual and their organizations … I don't see how we cannot be successful."

Later in the day, Vision 2020 coordinator David Plate and Frontier Finance Group President and CEO Andrew Harvey were scheduled to make presentations about entrepreneurism and a regional approach to the Columbia Basin.

Two examples of items produced in Moses Lake were on display, a jet-powered surfboard and the QuadMill, a machine for conditioning muscles in the legs.

The group members were invited to share and promote their projects.

"Pretty much our whole service area is represented," Center for Business and Industry Services Executive Director Allan Peterson said. "They're all thinking about financing alternative to conventional loans, which everybody's interested in. We feel real good about the representation. Everybody's really interested."

Peterson said the audience would learn a lot about the concept of regionalism and helping people in the area.

"We're really looking at the small business and kind of looking more toward the international market from a regional standpoint," he said.

Out of Willford's presentation, Big Bend Economic Development Council Executive Director Michael Buchanan said the next step is pursuing local outreach and representation on the district's loan committee to support area projects.

Buchanan said he appreciates the difficulties the geography of the district's coverage area can present, occasionally taking up to six hours per day in travel.

"I think if Big Bend Community College can set us up with a video conference on (meeting) days and (the district) will accommodate us, that certainly goes a long way to allowing us to have full participation," he said.

Lincoln County Economic Development Council Executive Director Pam Kelley was also interested in expanding the scope of the district's loan program, and felt the Big Bend council would be a perfect fit to convey information around the region.

"By networking and complementing each other, I think we are able to do tenfold as much as we could do by ourselves," she said.