photo by Matt Cornelius
A REGIONAL OPPORTUNITY TEXARKANA’S POST-COVID ECONOMIC REBOUND STRATEGIES BY DAVID ORR
A year after the coronavirus pandemic first drove the U.S. economy into the deepest downturn in generations, there is a robust debate about how local communities can position themselves for a brighter future. At the City of Texarkana, Texas, we are fortunate to have survived the past year facing numerous disasters at once, and even more grateful to look ahead to what is in our bright future at such a time as this. One of the things that is most notable about the team I work with at the City of Texarkana is that when the going gets tough, we keep going, and this past year has been no different. While there is still much work to be done in our city, county and community, I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight a few strategies Texarkana leaders are focusing on at the local, regional and state levels to catalyze
economic development post COVID-19 that will lead to meaningful, long-term growth for our region. First, in Texarkana, Texas, we are working to develop a COVID-19 recovery and resilience strategy for small businesses through a partnership with Ash+Lime and the Antero Group, two Texas-based consulting groups. While the study is primarily focused along the New Boston Road Corridor, the recommendations and guiding principles are applicable city-wide. An early recommendation includes working with the Northeast Texas Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to provide ongoing technical assistance, tailored market research and assisting small business owners with grant/loan opportunities related to COVID-19 recovery stimulus funding. The Northeast Texas SBDC is a tremendous, underutilized resource, funded in part by an agreement with the United States
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