CEO Update
The EDAWN monthly Executive Update is NEW & improved! We are trying to get you the news you need from the economic development world in bite size pieces. While we worked very hard in the past to keep the EU short and sweet in each of our sections; job attraction, retention/expansion and entrepreneurial development, the EU was still too long. Beginning this month, we are going to break it up into four sections and you will get a piece of news once a week in this quick one page format. Sign-up to receive the Executive Update here.
EDAWN just closed out our Fiscal Year and thanks to plenty of help from our partners, board and investors, we again set a new jobs assisted record of 3,002 while exceeding our goals in nearly every other category! The EDAWN dashboard is our tracking system to measure those areas where the board has set specific targets for the organization. (EDAWN FY 2016 Dashboard)
Is growth bad? Some in our community are lamenting the impacts of our exciting new growth, but we are not the first community to experience growth. “These days, you can find…people who moved somewhere before it exploded and now worry that growth is killing the place they love. But a growing body of economic literature suggests that anti-growth sentiment…is a major factor in creating a stagnant and less equal American economy.” According to the NY Times. (Link here)
The Save our Schools School Funding Initiative Is Off To A Very Good Start. The Coalition to Save our Schools has raised nearly $900,000 for the campaign to promote the upcoming school infrastructure funding initiative. Washoe County voters will be asked to support an increase in the sales taxes to finance improvements in the County’s overcrowded schools. “The funding is one indicator of support, but every business group, community group and elected official is on the same page – This needs to get done!” said Mike Kazmierski, President and CEO of EDAWN. The district is already using 240 portable trailers as classrooms and can’t fit any more at many campuses. Here is the RGJ article.
Reno Ranks High (#58) In Most Educated Cities Rankings According to WalletHub News: Reno is higher than Spokane WA, Boise, ID and San Antonio, TX. WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas to determine where the most educated Americans are putting their degrees to work. In order to make such a comparison, they examined each metro area across nine key metrics, ranging from the percentage of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher, to the educational attainment gap between women and men. Here are their findings.
The EPIC Report with Actual Numbers updated through June. Now 18 months into the 5 year EPIC report projections of over 52,000 and we are still on track, even before Tesla, Panasonic and Switch ramp up their hiring efforts. Here are Actual Numbers Graphs.
Please join Save Our Schools for a back to school fundraiser with family fun and a barbecue on Tuesday, August 23rd, at Rancharrah from 5:30-7:30 pm at 6001 Talbot Street, Reno. For more information, here is their flyer.
Business Development & Marketing
Dragonfly Energy, a lithium battery technology start-up based in Reno is hiring 12 new employees at an average wage of $22 hour. The company is adding $300,000 in new capital equipment and also received a $2 million investment from Dynavolt Renewable Power Technology to accelerate expansion of its manufacturing capacity. See the full press release .
The Business Development Team hosted 10 site visits in July (9 were first time visits with new clients).
A total of 29 new leads and projects were added to the pipeline (19 leads and 10 projects).
You are invited to an EDAWN press conference on Aug. 17, 12:00 noon, Atlantis Casino Resort, Grand 6-7 room. New company announcement and 400 jobs will be added to the region.
