CEO Updates

EDAWN Ends Fiscal Year Strong – See Dashboard.  EDAWN closed out the fiscal year with over 2,100 new jobs announced and continued to show an increase in the average wages of those companies with a wage of $50,2870 a year, 38% above the average wage of the announced companies just two years ago.  The EDAWN Dashboard monitors key metrics in the areas of focus as, determined by the EDAWN Board, and in the 36 areas tracked by the organization it met or exceeded the goal in 32, with several great announcements pending. See Dashboard
Business Facilities’ 14th Annual Rankings: Nevada is the top-ranked state for Economic Growth Potential and Reno-Sparks is number two for growth potential.  “Nevada’s focus on high-technology as an engine for recovery after the Great Recession-an effort that has lured an all-star team of top tech players to NV, including Apple, Tesla, eBay, Amazon, Switch and Hyperloop One-led to Nevada’s selection as BF’s economic growth potential leader.”  Notice where most of those companies are located.  Here is the full report.
CommercialCafé has put together a new study on the top 40 most sustainably powered cities in the U.S. Here are the Nevada-centric highlights:  Reno and Las Vegas have the highest scores in the country for use of geothermal energy.  Scoring 63.89 points overall Reno is 19th on the list.

 

 
Meltwater – Reno to Racine, Part 2: Recruiting and training a new workforce – WIND POINT – There are no projects to compare the Foxconn Technology Group development to unless you look out of state. And one such place to do that is Reno, Nevada. In 2014, Reno area landed the Tesla Gigafactory, which brought a whole new job sector to a region. “Tesla really drew (other companies to the area),” said Bill Thomas, assistant city manager for Reno. “I think they put us on the map.” Thomas said. Here is the article.
The Journal Times – From Reno to Racine: How the Tesla Gigafactory compares to Foxconn – WIND POINT – Mike Kazmierski, President and CEO of EDAWN, on Tuesday stood in front of a crowd of Racine County elected officials and community leaders and told them: “You’ve got a tiger by the tail and you don’t even know it.” Since it was announced in 2017 that the Foxconn would build a manufacturing campus in Mount Pleasant, many people have speculated as to how the development will impact the community. Kazmierski was one of several Nevada officials who came to The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread last week to give some insight on how the Reno area handled the Tesla Gigafactory development Here is the article.

The EPIC Report with actual numbers updated. RCG Economics has update the chart using the most recent census numbers with seasonal adjustments.  While very close to projections, given the anticipated growth this year we expect to exceed the projections by the end of this year.  Actual numbers graphs.

Housing remains a concern: The chart below shows the number of permits for new housing units (including apartments and condos) pulled in the past few years, compared to the goal of 6,000 per year. Note that 12 years ago, in 2005, we were over 6,700 permits.  The 6,000 units a year goal just meets the projected demand for housing, so  as of June we are well behind our goal.
Here is the latest RGJ article:

 

Opportunity Zones – A Redevelopment Job Start – Opportunity Zones, included in the recent 2017 Tax Act, are a new national investment program that incentizes private capital to invest in low income communities and businesses. The new code allows individual and corporate taxpayers to defer capital gains on the sale of stock, business assets, or any other property by investing the proceeds in an Opportunity Fund, which in turn must invest in businesses located in certain low-income communities designated as Opportunity Zones (OZs). Most of Reno and Sparks’ downtown cores, as well as the Tahoe Reno Industrial center, are in a designated zone. Here is the full article.
EDAWN articles, published in the RGJ, are stored on our website. Here is the link to the library.

Business Development Update

The Business Development team added 145 new jobs to the region in July.
  • Eco Compliance, manufacturing, 110 jobs
  • Highway Two, e-commerce, 35 jobs
There were 9 leads and 4 projects added to the pipeline and 10 site visits were hosted.
To contact the Business Development team, please email EVP, Stan Thomas, VP, Chris Ault, Jr. or Program Manager, Norma Yamaji

Partner Updates

Save the date – 3rd Annual Philanthropy Leaders Summit Reno – Transformational Philanthropy – Fri, September 21st from 8:00-11:30 AM at the Nevada Museum of Art. The Philanthropy Leaders Summit is an annual gathering of corporate funders, family foundations, and individual philantropists designed to hear about best practices along with trends in giving. Here is their flyer.
Save the date for the Women’s Leadership Conference, to be held in Reno, Nevada at the Whitney Peak Hotel on Tuesday, Sept. 25th from 830 a.m. to 530 p.m. The event is presented by Mandy Clark and Optimizing You Inc., and will feature a keynote by author and leadership guru, Sally Helgesen.  For more information, go here.

 

Arrow is growing and looking for new employees to join their team.  See attached flyer for their hiring event on August  10th and 11th and pass it on!
The Stat Pack is a monthly business e-report, co-authored by Mike PeQueen of HighTower Las Vegas and John Restrepo of RCG Economics, with input from Brian Bonnefant of UNR. It combines important metrics relevant to business decision makers and financial commentary on current issues facing the Nevada economy. The Stat Pack features data and dialogue about the Southern and Northern Nevada economies.  Here is latest Fact Pack!

Major Investor of the Week

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP – Founded in 1968, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck practices in the areas of real estate, corporate law, public policy, natural resources, intellectual property and litigation.

EDAWN Events

Did you know that….Arts mean business? The creative industries are arts businesses that range from nonprofit museums, symphonies, and theaters to for-profit film, architecture, and design companies. A 2015 analysis of Dun & Bradstreet data counts 902 businesses in Washoe County involved in the creation or distribution of the arts that employ 2,964 people – representing 4.2 percent of all businesses and 1.5 percent of all employees respectively.
EDAWN’s Arts & Business Luncheon and Awards – September 13, 2018!
EDAWN’s Arts & Business Luncheon and Awards will highlight and recognize businesses and individuals who have shown outstanding support and engagement with the local arts community. At this luncheon, learn about the important role a thriving arts and culture community plays in our region’s successful economic development efforts of attracting and retaining quality companies, as well as a qualified workforce.
Keynote Speaker:
Laura Zabel, Executive Director
Springboard for the Arts
Event Details:
EDAWN’s Arts & Business Luncheon and Awards
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Eldorado Resort Casino
11:30 am – Check-In
12 noon – 1:30 pm – Lunch, Keynote & Awards Presentation
Co-Partners: City of Reno, City of Sparks, Sierra Arts Foundation and the University of Nevada Reno/College of Liberal Arts
For more information, please contact Sheila Imsdahl or call 775-829-3704.
Thank you to our Title Sponsor:

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Nominations Still Open – SAVE THE DATE! – EDAWN’s 7th Annual Existing Industry Awards – The Corporate Citizen Award is just one of the categories where you can shine in the Existing Industry Awards on Thursday, October 18th, at the Grand Sierra Resort. Nominate your company or another primary company, that is deserving of recognition, and is making our region a better place. Don’t fly below the radar screen…step into the spotlight and get credit for your many contributions.  Award categories and General Criteria are posted on the EDAWN website here.
Thank you to our Title Sponsor:
To view EDAWN’s 2018 list of events, go here. For more information, please contact Sheila Imsdahl or call 775.829.3704.

 

For a calendar of additional 2018 EDAWN  Entrepreneurial events, please visit Startup Digest Reno. For more information, please contact Katie Romanko or call 775.829.3702.