Will county seize marketing opportunity?
Commission approves, council considers coalition membership
An opportunity for Marion County to be included with the "heavy hitters" of economic development was approved by Marion County Commission Friday when the commission lent its support to join the Great Wichita Economic Development Coalition.
County economic development director Teresa Huffman presented the information to the commission and said she was awaiting approval from Marion County Economic Development Council to spend $1,250 to participate.
For the investment, the county would be included in a promotional brochure that is distributed locally and abroad.
Each of the nine counties has a page in the magazine-style brochure to promote industrial development.
"This is an opportunity to promote Marion County as a place to grow," Huffman said.
Commissioner Dan Holub agreed that this would be a good opportunity.
"It has to be a better investment than (road) signs that were put up around the county," he said.
"I think we should go ahead and do it," commissioner Bob Hein said.
A full membership with the coalition is $2,500, Huffman said, but since the year was half over, the organization was offering a membership to the county for half price.
"The reason they do print the magazine and promote all over the world for $2,500 per county is because they have major corporate sponsors," Huffman said.
She continued that the magazine wasn't a tourism piece but an opportunity to promote local industries.
Other information is work force availability, housing costs, and overall cost of living.
Huffman said funds were available through the county economic development council but wanted a marketing line item in her budget in 2008.
Emphasis of the magazine is aviation and general manufacturing.
Other counties that are members of the coalition are Sedgwick, Harvey, Butler, Cowley, Harper, Kingman, Reno, and Sumner.
The organization hosts monthly meetings, which Huffman will attend. At those meetings, various informational programs are presented to economic development professionals.
The group contends that when site selectors look for locations, they look at regions — including South Central Kansas.
The benefits of being a partner in the coalition include:
— Presence on the organization's web site where site selectors and businesses can access information.
— Full page exposure in an annual magazine with 15,000 copies printed at a cost of $31,000.
— An opportunity to exhibit at national and local trade shows or send promotional material to the organization's staff.
