Town Administrator                March 11, 2019

Economic Development is a Team Sport...but also like Fly Fishing!

Last week Ben (Economic Development Director) and I showed Andy Clark around Town. Andy is the “creative director” (my words, not his) and one leader of the great Moxie team in Louisville. Moxie serves some of the best pastries in the country (they are James Beard recognized for the foodies out there) and they also bring lots of people together and help create a wonderful sense of place. I asked Andy to consider expanding his operations to Erie, so he came to Town to check things out. He seemed to like what he saw and the people he talked with, and said he would probably start with a Moxie food truck to test the market.
 
So how, you may ask, is this like a Team Sport, and what the heck does this have in common with fly fishing?  Well, it takes teamwork to build community, and teamwork to make businesses feel wanted and welcome. That means we all need to let businesses already here in Erie know that we appreciate what they bring to the community (products, services, employment opportunities, a sense of place, tax revenue and more) and we all need to reach out to those businesses we’d like to see come to Erie and let them know we would like them join us in making this an even better place than it already is. So, reach out and share your love and support of the businesses you appreciate, and let us know about the ones you want us to join you in reaching out to. And remember the sage advice my father once gave me when fly fishing, “You can’t catch fish if you don’t have your fly in the water.” Ok, it’s a metaphoric stretch, and I certainly don’t want any business to feel like they got taken in by something artificial. But like Andy and Moxie, I am sure there are other business leaders out there who may not think about coming to Erie until we present them with that “Eriesistible” opportunity. :)