Jason Parrott's guest on Emphasis is Chuck Betts, who is the Executive Director for the Keokuk Economic Development Corporation.
They discuss a new direction for the organization.
The Keokuk Economic Development Corporation (KEDC) has been around for years.
It has been directly involved in business recruitment and the creation of Kindustry Park, an industrial park located just east of the city.
Betts says, in recent years, KEDC's focus has gone from pursuing large and small industries to working on behalf of the Lee County Economic Development Group (LCEDG).
He says changes within LCEDG have forced KEDC to reexamine its mission and develop three goals/focuses: improve relationships with current businesses, recruit new businesses and establish a workforce development initiative.
Betts says it is important for the organization to sell itself to the community and show that it is out there working to bring jobs and growth to Keokuk.
He says future actions by KEDC will be judged on how they line up with the three new goals.
Betts says he will judge success by how many people are taking about the organization, how many jobs or businesses are created, and how many people want to join the board of directors.
