Testimonials

Golden Shovel Agency testimonial by Amy Madison from Pflugerville Community Development Corporation. In her testimonial, Amy talks about Golden Shovel Agency's web development and customer service and the GSA-built website for PCDC. (https://www.pfdevelopment.com)

(00:00) What is the greatest challenge that Golden Shovel Agency has helped you solve?
(00:08) Why did you choose to partner with Golden Shovel Agency?
(00:38) What did you like most about working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(1:12) What have your greatest achievements been since working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(2:13) What advice would you give to someone who is considering partnering with Golden Shovel Agency?
(2:53) What are your goals for the future?

Golden Shovel Agency client testimonial by Audrey Schroyer from Gainesville, TX Economic Development Corporation. In her testimonial, Audrey talks about Golden Shovel Agency's web development services and the GSA-built website for Gainesville EDC.

(00:00) What were the greatest challenges that Golden Shovel Agency helped you solve?
(00:26) Why did you choose Golden Shovel Agency?
(00:58) What do you like best about working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(1:43) What advice would you give to someone who is considering working with Golden Shovel Agency

Golden Shovel Agency client testimonial by Carlos Guzman from Pasadena EDC. In his testimonial, Carlos talks about Golden Shovel Agency's economic development website services and the GSA-built website for Pasadena EDC.

(00:00) What was the biggest challenge that Golden Shovel Agency helped you solve?
(00:18) Why did you choose Golden Shovel Agency?
(00:37) What do you like best about working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(00:51) What are some of your greatest achievements since partnering with Golden Shovel Agency?
(1:23) What are Pasadena EDC's goals for the future?
(1:42) Additional comments?

Golden Shovel Agency client testimonial by Danielle Scheiner from Conroe, TX Economic Development Council. In her testimonial, Danielle talks about Golden Shovel Agency's web development services and the website GSA built for Conroe EDC. (https://www.conroeedc.org)

(00:00) What is the biggest challenge that Golden Shovel Agency helped you to solve?
(00:26) Why did you choose Golden Shovel Agency?
(1:04) What do you like best about working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(1:34) What are your greatest achievements since working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(2:05) What advice do you have for someone who is considering working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(2:31) What are your goals of Conroe, TX EDC for the future?
(2:37) What other features do you like best about your Golden Shovel Agency website?

Golden Shovel Agency client testimonial by Garin Giacomarro from Grapevine, TX Economic Development. In his testimonial, Garin talks about Golden Shovel Agency's web development services and the GSA-built website for Grapevine Economic Development. (https://www.choosegrapevinetx.com)

(00:00) What do you like best about working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(00:29) What have your greatest achievements been since working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(00:52) How has Golden Shovel Agency helped your organization to communicate during the COVID-19 pandemic?
(1:30) What advice would you give to someone who is considering working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(2:04) What are the goals of Grapevine Economic Development for the future?

When asked about his job, Garry exclaimed, "I don't like it. I love it!" He loves the direct impact he can make as a GFDC team and organization. He loves the fact that their efforts are a part of a larger regional effort, state, even. He loves that economic development is the only field that truly ebbs and flows with the voice of the stakeholders and industry leaders on a daily basis. Finally, Garry loves the fact that he sees the trend shifting to a Holistic economic development focus nationally- not simply projects landed and secured, but WORKFORCE ATTRACTION, housing, placemaking, and BRAND IDENTIFICATION.

"This field is one of a kind and it takes a true commitment to the cause," says Garry. At the Greater Fremont Development Council, they keep their focus on the mission of growth and sustainability.

The challenges that Garry faces are usually tied to change. The field is always in constant motion, markets and industry ebbs and flows, and community politics and organization shifts make it challenging to plan, but are also exciting to navigate through.

Garry recalls the phrase, "Change is inevitable, but growth is optional." Due to the GFDC's regional partnership with the GREATER OMAHA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, they continue to push for sound economic growth. Garry urges other economic developers to be flexible, nimber, and open to new ideas and collaborations. READY TO GROW?

When considering his greatest success, Garry could easily list accolades but realized that's not the true measure of success. The programs and projects secured as teammates, leaders, and partners, in every community he's ever worked in, is the true measure of success. He states, "The field is a small field and your teamwork and relationships built in communities are the legacies. We simply hope that our programs and projects outlast our daily work, to help secure a better future for our communities."

IAN VINCENT is currently the Senior Business Developer at AREA PARTNERSHIP FOR ECONOMIC EXPANSION (APEX). His key responsibilities include team leadership in transportation logistics, manufacturing, and workforce development. He played a managing role with NORTHFORCE.ORG from 2013-2018 and continues in an oversight capacity. Ian was also elected president of the DULUTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD in January of 2020. With deep ties to high education and private industry, Ian maintains a thought-leading role in the region’s workforce development and manufacturing communities.

Believe it or not, Ian actually fell into the economic development industry by accident! “It took me graduating with an accounting degree to realize I had no interest in being an accountant, but luckily I had taken enough other courses to acquire additional degrees in International Business, Marketing, and Film Studies (for the hell of it),” said Ian. With all of that knowledge, he was pretty much open to anything business-related and went door-to-door in Downtown Duluth with resumes in hand. Fortunately, a local foundation put him in touch with a small non-profit dedicated to connecting young career seekers with networking and entry-level opportunities in the Twin Ports. Within days he was sent an Internship Position description with a company called APEX. Ian jokes, “I had to Google ‘economic development’ on the way to the interview as I had never heard the term before.” The rest is history.

“What I love about my job is what I’ve always loved since day 1 as APEX’s development intern - the diversity of the projects!” said Ian. As many people have short attention spans, most people are more than willing to have a day that is different from the last. Ian loves learning about new industries and companies right in his own backyard that are doing business with all corners of the globe. Currently, he described being particularly focused on transportation logistics, manufacturing, and workforce development.

Of course, with all the fun aspects of a job, comes its challenges. Ian notes that APEX has a small staff and “MASSIVE” geography of nearly 28,000 square miles (WHICH YOU CAN VIEW ON THEIR HOMEPAGE). The APEX Region is ten counties, cross-state, and larger than the state of West Virginia, or Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Delaware combined. So trying to stay engaged and in good-standing with industries and partners from tip to tail of the region is an ever-present challenge.

One of Ian’s greatest successes was being elected to a second term as chairman of the Duluth Workforce Board, the largest WFB in the state. Having spent his career engraining himself and growing passionate about workforce development, to being honored and trusted to lead that group, really means a lot.

“My advice to new folks in economic development is to take the time early on to personally get to know your local stakeholders, thought leaders, and data people (this last one is very important),” said Ian. “Take them to lunch, learn what they do, how they do it, and why. Then assure they understand your priorities as an economic developer and the importance of business retention, expansion, and attraction. There will come many times when an RFI with a 72-hour turnaround falls in your lap - you will need gas rates, state/local incentives, and clarity on wetland delineation ASAP. But it’s not an issue, as you will know exactly who to reach and won’t feel bad calling your labor market analysts’ personal cell at 7 PM to get a quick answer because they know you and understand the value of your work. Partnership is the name of the game,” explains Ian.

Golden Shovel Agency client testimonial by Josh Schneuker from Seguin Economic Development Corporation. In his testimonial, Josh talks about Golden Shovel Agency's web development services and the GSA-built website for Seguin EDC. (https://www.seguinedc.com)

(00:00) What is the biggest challenge that Golden Shovel Agency has helped you solve?
(00:29) Why did you choose to partner with Golden Shovel Agency?
(00:58) What do you like best about collaborating with Golden Shovel Agency?
(1:32) What has your organization achieved since working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(2:27) What advice do you have for someone who is considering partnering with Golden Shovel Agency?

KATIE HEPPNER is the Executive Director at the WEST CENTRAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE (the Economic Alliance), the economic development corporation that serves Wadena County, MN. Prior to that, she held leadership roles in local governments throughout Greater Minnesota. She is a proud Maverick, having earned both her B.S. in Political Science and Masters in Public Administration from Minnesota State University Mankato. In 2020, she had the honor of receiving the Emerging Leader of the Year Award from the Economic Development Association of Minnesota. She has a deep passion for rural engagement and serves on several boards, including the Brainerd Dispatch Advisory Board, the NORTH CENTRAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION FULL CORPORATION, the CENTRAL LAKES COLLEGE FOUNDATION, and serves as the Chair of the STAPLES-MOTLEY AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION.

Working with a great cross-section of people is Katie's favorite thing about her job. One day she is connecting with local growers and makers on how to turn their hobbies into small businesses, and the next day she is having meetings with real estate developers looking to start larger-scale projects in the community. This gives her the opportunity to learn about new topics and think about a variety of issues that face the community and local economy. “An added benefit is that, as my network grows, I have the ability to pull-together different folks who bring their own talents to the table to work on County-wide initiatives,” Katie says.

While Katie loves the variety of the projects she gets to work on, she recognizes that almost all community issues have an economic development component. Instead of focusing solely on business attraction, retention, and expansion, she also works extensively on a growing list of issues, most notably workforce, child care, and housing. Balancing all of these priorities and ensuring that each issue is given its due attention can be stressful at times, especially as she is the organization’s only staff member. “To overcome this, I rely on a network of community leaders to help me move the needle on each topic and try to set clear, tangible project goals and outcomes so that we do not get lost in the weeds,” says Katie.

One of Katies greatest successes was the community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, they formed the Todd-Wadena Outreach Team to proactively connect with business owners in Todd and Wadena County. This team had official ‘guided conversations’ with 78 businesses between March and April that were logged into a tracking database for future reference, as well as countless other informal conversations. They developed resource guides to help connect folks with grants and loans, shared tactics for developing a preparedness plan, and answered questions about reopening regulations. In addition to this one-on-one work, they also created opportunities for communication and information sharing amongst community members. This included regularly scheduled virtual coffee talks, with guest speakers and round-robin community updates, and a radio town hall to share broader economic impact information. “Working with business owners during their most trying times both humbling and inspiring. 2020 certainly highlighted the incredibly important role that our business play not only in our economy but in our sense of community,” Katie describes. The coffee talks are still being held on a bi-weekly basis and we are continuing to reach out and connect businesses with needed resources.

Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

When Katie was fresh out of graduate school, she recalled, “I would get really hung up on designing the perfect program or policy. I wanted everything to be ‘textbook,’ so that no one could scrutinize it.” Unfortunately, as we all know, nothing in the real world pleases everyone. In addition, time constraints, lack of resources, and a million other factors make it difficult to design a project like it was in a laboratory. However, that does not mean that since a project cannot be perfect, that it should not be done at all. Katie suggests, “You simply need to do what you can with what you have.” Understandingly, this might lead to a series of smaller projects over a longer period of time, but real change comes from persistent and incremental efforts. After all, there is no silver bullet that will solve every issue.

Lisa became involved in the field to make a long-lasting impact on communities. She has a passion for identifying a problem and collaborating to bring a solution to the table. She also loves being able to lift people- and this happens as jobs and opportunities in the community come together.

In 2013, Lisa moved to York County Development Corporation (YCDC) to be the Executive Director. She loves being able to see projects come together. In particular, it was rewarding for her to have spent time with a company before it even opened, watched the construction, and then meet people in the community who are taking jobs at that new business.

Similar experiences occur with housing projects for her. For example, opening 24 duplexes, then watching apartment buildings going up, and knowing that she's creating a great impact on the families and overall workforce for the business community.

For Lisa, it is all about the people of York County and building a better future. In her current position, she loves telling the county's stories about businesses, families, and individuals. Ultimately, those stories are what help "sell" the community to business and talent.

While Lisa has been through many successes, she has also faced a variety of challenges. She recalls that it took her a long time to realize no movement on a project can be a win. She states, "an individual realizing they are not ready to move forward is a win because when they decide it's time, they will have a much stronger business." Politics also brings a challenge for Lisa to work with. However, she realizes that at times, there is nothing to do to fix issues, which can be difficult to accept. Finally, there are times where people are afraid of change. She has found that with some people, you're never going to convince them that change is a good thing. However, Lisa loves the support given by others in the community.

Lisa also provides advice for other communities and economic developers: "Don't give up. When people are fighting a project, keep using data to show the need. Never leave a business hanging in a controversial moment and make sure they have all the honest facts going into it."

Golden shovel Agency client testimonial by Steven Jones from Grapevine Economic Development. In his testimonial, Steven talks about Golden Shovel Agency's economic development website services and the GSA-built website for Grapevine, TX Economic Development.

(00:00) What is the greatest challenge that Golden Shovel Agency helped you solve?
(00:44) What is your favorite thing about working with Golden Shovel Agency?
(1:14) What would you tell someone who's considering partnering with Golden Shovel?