By BEN NELSON

Economic Development Partnership

Thank you to all who contributed over the past two years in formulating our community’s newly released economic development strategic plan. It will guide us over the next several years on how, working together, we can best create and recruit jobs to Boyle County.

We will adapt and adjust our course over time, but together we must decide how boldly we will go forward.

The Economic Development Partnership (EDP) is a group of nine different organizations that have chosen to work together to foster the economic well-being of Boyle County.

Together, this partnership led the effort to create our plan. Together, we collaborated with more than 200 citizens to get a good understanding of our community’s thoughts on how best to go forward.

The partnership is made up of city and county governments and private, non-profit organizations working for the common good. The current nine partners are the City of Danville, Boyle County Fiscal Court, the City of Perryville, the City of Junction City, the Heart of Danville, the Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Perryville, the Boyle County Industrial Foundation and the Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau. More than 85 civic leaders serve some leadership role within this partnership.

Please thank them for their continuing service, as most are volunteers offering their time and talent without a lot of thanks.

We act as a “team of teams,” working for the common good. That can be messy, noisy and hard. But when done well, it is a best practice.

As the opening lines in the book, “Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World,” written by General Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins, David Silverman, Chris Fussell points out, “Whether in business or in war, the ability to react quickly and adapt is critical, and it’s becoming even more so as technology and disruptive forces increase the pace of change. That requires new ways to communicate and work together. In today’s world, creativity is a collaborative endeavor. Innovation is a team effort…”

As a “team of teams”, we all share in our successes or failures. Each organization has a voice in what the partnership collectively does. While every single organization plays an important yet distinct role for our community, by working together, the partnership accomplishes things that no one of these organizations could do alone.

In July 2015, the EDP Board of Directors formed a working group to facilitate the creation of this strategic plan, resulting in the current membership: now retired Farmers National Bank executive and former chair of Heart of Danville Tom Poland; Boyle County Judge-Executive Harold McKinney; Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Jennifer Kirchner; Warrenwood Manor owner and incoming CVB Chair Brittney Mills-Adams; Chamber Executive Director Paula Fowler; Danville City Manager Ron Scott; Danville City Mayor Mike Perros; Caldwell Stone CEO and Industrial Foundation Chair John Albright; Heart of Danville Executive Director Nick Wade; Main Street Perryville Executive Director Vicki Goode; and me.  

Please thank them for the hours they have spent helping shape and collaborate on this plan.

You will find printed versions of the new plan to read at the Community Arts Center, Danville City Hall, the Boyle County Courthouse, Grayson’s Tavern at Constitution Square Park, and the Boyle County Public Library.

Please thank these organizations for helping share this information with all citizens.

Centre College, the Boyle County Industrial Foundation, the Heart of Danville, the CVB, the City of Danville, the EDP and the Boyle County Fiscal Court came together to fund this effort.

Please thank these organizations for believing this effort mattered and investing in it.

A total of 84 businesses completed our first-ever economic development survey for our community, sharing their insight and needs. We continue to discuss their needs as part of our planning efforts.

Please thank these organizations for taking the time to share their perspective and choosing Boyle County.

Thank you to the many who helped our community create this plan. Now begins the real hard work to innovate and realize our best days ahead. There is much to be done together for the common good.

Ben Nelson is the chair of the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership.