Jackson County’s economic development agency, the Jackson County Economic Development Partnership (JCEDP), has been named the top business retention and expansion (BR&E) program in southern Ohio. BR&Es are critical economic development meetings with the purpose of identifying incumbent companies’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These meetings allow local, regional, and state economic development entities to help meet area companies’ needs, anticipate threats of closure or downsizing, and even assist existing firms’ growth.
Local economic development offices in conjunction with Ohio Southeast Economic Development (OhioSE), annually create a targeted list of companies to perform BR&Es either in-person or virtually. The companies targeted represent a significant portion of the private sector employment in a community. In 2022, the JCEDP hit the highest percentage of their target companies in the OhioSE 9-county southern Ohio sub-region.
“The JCEDP and Sam Brady’s commitment to BR&E has been critical in Jackson County’s tremendous track record of success over the last few years,” said Mike Jacoby, President and CEO of OhioSE. “80% of a community’s economic development project wins come from existing employers, which is why we believe the execution of a BR&E program is the foundation of a local development office.”
“It’s an honor for our outreach efforts to be celebrated by OhioSE,” said Sam Brady, President and CEO of JCEDP. “The relationships we have forged over the years have afforded the opportunity to get to know, and better yet understand, some exceptional companies and people. Our real pride is the service we are allowed to provide to our job creators.”
Ohio Southeast Economic Development (OhioSE) is the JobsOhio Network Partner for southern, eastern, and southeastern Ohio, providing economic development work and resources in 25 rural counties; they are the newest and geographically the largest of the six regions across the state. OhioSE partners closely with regional development districts, local economic development offices, state agencies, and other entities to expand, retain, and attract businesses in the counties they serve.
Additional coverage:
- “The Jackson County Economic Development Partnership recognized” – Logan Daily News, 02/09/2023
