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What’s the biggest change you’ve seen to Lee County business during your tenure? Three years ago when I came in, we were kind of at the bottom; the area was struggling and now we’re on the upswing, on that positive flow— seeing new businesses come into downtown, existing businesses expanding and moving into larger facilities or just hearing all the positive things. We’re definitely on an upswing. 1 Do you participate with the Lee County Economic Development Office and what is the Chamber’s role in that? I’m excited that Glen Sayler is taking over as director; he and I have known each other for a number of years and I’m excited where that would go. I’m hoping we can work on some projects together and be a part of whatever they’re doing in the community. 3 What do you see are the biggest opportunities for future growth in this region? I’m a big picture thinker so what I would like to see for this region moving forward is cooperation and connection. For example, we have now renamed the Lee County Alliance of Chambers as the Southwest Florida Alliance of Chambers, so we’re looking north, looking south and saying: let’s work together. There are companies coming here that might be in all three counties, or more, and by presenting ourselves as one united front, that’ll do well for us. On the flip side, what are our biggest challenges? I think it might be the opposite of that. I think sometimes people who are working on a project don’t reach out into the community. I don’t know that everybody utilizes all our resources all the time. There’s a wealth of knowledge in this community, expertise, passion for growth — there are people here who truly care and want us to be the place to be. We’re not doing everything we could do to help businesses relocate or expand if we don’t utilize these resources. 4 5 Last question: pitch us on opening a business in Lee County. I think that if you wanted to bring a business into Lee County, this is the time to do that. We have a healthy economy, a strong board of county commissioners who work together to strengthen our community, we have a new superintendent of schools who is passionate about doing the right thing for kids in our area, bankers are looking and wanting to get involved — this is the time to come. Sports, arts, culture and of course, our beaches — there’s something for everyone here. 2
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