A few months ago I wrote a column explaining what we do in economic development. I was invited to continue to share these columns, so in the interest of continuing to educate and communicate, I decided to take that offer.

Last week our office closed $288,000 in gap funding projects. We have already closed $113,600 in 2021, and we have another $250,000 pending approval. There are at least two more in various stages of application. Gap funding is the difference between what a traditional lender is able to finance and the actual project cost, and is generally about 40 percent of the total project. You do the math on how we have impacted our economy in financing projects, which is only a portion of the total impact.

And while we are happy to secure financing to make projects close, that is not all we do. I tried to make a short list of what we do, and here it is: Business Recruitment, Business Retention; Financing; Marketing; Administration; Meet Deadlines; Plan Events; Solve Workforce Challenges; Solve Housing Challenges; Write Grants; Administer Funding; Write Policy; Write and Test Business Plans; Start-Up Finance Forecasting; Report To Board and Governing Bodies; Hold Confidentiality; Look for Investors; Look For Creative Solutions; Site Inspections; Community Development; Assist Non-Profits; Follow Up; Professional and Personal Development; Communicate; Validate; Listen; Volunteer; Strategize; Show up; Engage; and ABOVE ALL OF THIS, what we do best is:

MAKE CONNECTIONS. I often feel our position in the community is to look at each opportunity as a puzzle. It’s our role to find the puzzle pieces that fit together to make a project work. That puzzle piece can be money, a person, a skill, a business, a piece of property, a dream, a network, a group, and sometimes a crazy idea. And sometimes it’s crazy enough to just work. I’m looking for a few puzzle pieces right now. Are YOU the missing piece? Schedule an appointment with me and let’s find out.

We sometimes come under fire for not doing enough or not communicating enough. Getting information to the public is difficult, as anyone who does it can testify. We use newspaper advertising, social media, website, and e-mail to communicate our messages. We know that falls short sometimes. How can we improve our services to the community and our communication to you? We are open to suggestions, but we’d also challenge you to ENGAGE. We need more passionate community members to engage, to get involved, to show up for events, to show up at city and county governance meetings, and to understand the Dunning-Kruger effect, commonly known as “you don’t know what you don’t know.” There are a lot of people working hard for the community, and often their work goes unseen and unspoken. You’ll find those silent heroes as you show up for local activities and functions. And hopefully you will join me in applauding those efforts to revitalize our county. It takes all of us together to make a community succeed. What does success look like for you, and how can you contribute to your community’s success?

Stacie Schmidt is executive director of Ellsworth County Economic Development. She can be reached by telephone: (785) 472-9204 or e-mail: www.ellsworthcountyeconomicdevelopment.com