Curtis Englehart - Grand Junction Economic Partnership - Full Circle Podcast with The Christi Reece Group

Christi sits down with GJEP Executive Director, Curtis Englehart, to discuss the economic and business outlook for the Grand Valley, including recent wins and the diversification of our local economy.

Learn more about GJEP at https://www.gjep.org/

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

The Full Circle podcast, compelling interviews and incredible tales from Colorado's Western Slope, from the mountains to the desert. Christy Reese and her team here from the Movers Shakers, and characters of the Grand Valley and surrounding mountain towns that make the Western slope the place we all love. You'll learn, you'll laugh, you'll love with the full circle. Hello everybody, I'm Kristy Reese. Welcome back to the Full Circle Podcast. I'm really delighted to have today as our guest, the executive director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership. Curtis Engelhart. Welcome, Curtis. Thank

Speaker 2: 0:36

You. Yes . So happy to be here.

Speaker 1: 0:38

Thank you. Appreciate you coming and , um, sharing all the successes that we're having in Grand Junction and , uh, very excited about what's going on here. But wanna start kind of go back a little bit and talk about your history. Sure. Um, you haven't always been in economic development , uh, but you grew up in the area, so you're really familiar with businesses and, and the local economy. How did you get started in , um, well , we'll talk about, you know, where you grew up and, and your first , uh, careers and then how you transitioned into economic development.

Speaker 2: 1:11

Sure. Yeah. So I've a been a Western Slope guy, you know, all my life. I grew up in Delta, so right down the road. Yeah . But , uh, you know,

Speaker 1: 1:19

And you know, I grew up in a small town and people say, oh, not many people can say that. Right, right. Yeah . You get that all the

Speaker 2: 1:24

Time. There's , yep , I do. And there's something special about growing up in a small town, right. Um, yeah. So, so when I was younger, my, my great ambition, my main goal was to play baseball. That's all I ever wanted to do. And , um, so I was able to do that in college. And I played , uh, two years at , uh, Trinidad State Junior College. Where is that? So that is , uh, Southwest Colorado. It's about

Speaker 1: 1:46

In Trinidad. Yep .

Speaker 2: 1:47

Yep . Six hours or so , um, away. And that was a really great experience and , um, led me to what was then Mesa State College. Um, finished out my two years there and graduated and then have been in the Grand Junction area ever since then. And so when I was coming outta college, I always thought like parks and recreation. I wanted to , I did an internship with the recreation department in Delta Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . And that really , uh, checked a lot of interests that I had. And so, coming outta college, I got a, a job with the City of Grand Junction, and I thought that would kind of be what I would work towards. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . Um, but it , you know, I, I started to, to realize maybe that wasn't , uh, what was for me. And , um, if I wanted to stay here locally, you know, it seemed like back then I , I graduated college in 2008, which was a terrible time to graduate college. Wow. Yes. <laugh>. Right. So , um, I ended up, I , I knew I needed some leadership experience. I knew I needed to work on some communication skills, and so I ended up taking a job as what's called a relocation consultant for a moving company. And this moving company was,

Speaker 1: 2:56

I saw on your Mesa Moving,

Speaker 2: 2:58

Mesa Moving, yep . And it was in Montrose. Okay. So now I'm commuting to Montrose Uhhuh every day . And , um, I learned a ton through that job. I, I gotta handle the operations, also did the sales. So checked that leadership experience, checked that communication skills experience. Um, and I did it for a little over a year. And then about that time, me and my wife had our first daughter, and I was leaving , uh, the house before she woke up. I was getting home , um, before or right after she would go to bed. And so I ended up needing a change and , uh, ended up going to the workforce center looking for work. Um, ended up getting hired by the workforce, summer <laugh> <laugh> . And so I was a business development representative for them for a few years, which, you know, I connected local businesses to, to talent, talented job seekers. And , um, worked my way up and I became the Workforce Center director in 2016, and did that for about five and a half years. And that workforce development really opened up this, my eyes to economic development. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> with workforce development, you have to have, or with economic development, you have to have workforce development and vice versa. And so that eventually led me to the role in GEP . I've been in this role now as executive director for about a year and a half, and I'm , I'm loving it.

Speaker 1: 4:15

Wonderful. Um, a couple things I wanted to touch on when you were talking about, you must be really proud of your alma mater, I mean, being a CMU graduate to see all the changes that have happened there and the growth. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 4:27

Yeah. It is so great to see the growth. In fact, I, I went to CMU, it was a number of years ago, but for a meeting, and I literally got lost on campus <laugh>, and , and I went to school there. Right. So just the growth is is so great. Yeah . And then , um, I was able to be a part of their strategic planning this last year where they developed some new values for their university and just so cool to see that human scale design they're doing there and , and just the values they're instilling into their students, because that's our emerging workforce, that's our, our future there. So

Speaker 1: 4:57

Absolutely. It really ties into what you're doing.

Speaker 2: 5:00

Absolutely. Yep .

Speaker 1: 5:01

Interesting to think about. Um, 'cause I have teenagers , uh, because how you transition from one career to another, you know, and you saying, you know, you really thought parks and rec was gonna be your thing, and you don't know until you start Right. And you go, this isn't quite right. And then you, I I really admire you for being able to identify that you needed to develop some skills to, to do some different things. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 5:25

Yeah. Absolutely. You know, and I think some of that's through some hard lessons learned, you know, and, and sometimes I think , uh, when we don't have all the experience we need yet, we think we have it. And I went through some of that where, you know, I was getting looked over for some promotional opportunities or , um, applying for a different job and not even getting an interview and then having to do a little bit of self-reflection saying, well, this is probably why. And then going out and making sure I, I got those skills I needed. Mm-Hmm.

Speaker 1: 5:53

<affirmative> and I , you know, I tell my kids all the time, you , you don't know what you wanna do now, and you never know where you , you just gotta get started because you never know where one job is gonna lead the people you will meet the experiences that you have, the experiences that you like and that you don't like during that job Yeah . Will help you transition into something else.

Speaker 2: 6:11

Yeah. And, and I tell this story all the time. When I was going to college, I, I still had no idea what I wanted to do. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . And it wasn't until the summer of my junior year of college that I did an internship with the Parks and Recreation department where I thought, huh, I could see, I could see myself doing this. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . And so it took so long to get there, and it shouldn't be that way. Right. And I'm a huge believer, we , we gotta get further upstream with our students and, and introduce them to career pathways at a younger age. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , um, I would've loved at ,

Speaker 1: 6:42

At high school level or even younger. No,

Speaker 2: 6:44

I'd say even younger. Yeah . I think, you know, at the middle school level, start doing some more, you know, field trips and, and really implement on the job trainings or some type of internship model at the high school level. Um, but man, if you can get our kids exposed to different career pathways at a younger age, and just let them explore and test and try, that would be huge in my opinion.

Speaker 1: 7:05

It seems like with the advent of social media and YouTube and being influencers, there's a lot of young entrepreneurs out there. I mean, I think kids have more opportunity to <laugh> be entrepreneurs than ever.

Speaker 2: 7:18

Yeah. Yep . Absolutely. And you know, what's, what's great about entrepreneurship , um, right now is what you're saying, that technology piece of it, you , there's so many resources at their fingertips Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> that we never, never used to have. Right. Yeah. And so, yeah. And I think that's, that's a really , um, great strength we have in our community is that entrepreneurship mindset. Um, especially with the business incubator being right here. And , and , uh, man, I tell you what, I think we're gonna see some really great entrepreneurs here in the near future.

Speaker 1: 7:49

Well, let's talk about your , um, organization and what's your mission at GEP?

Speaker 2: 7:56

Yeah, so GEP we call ourselves GEP Grand Junction Economic Partnership. GEP is our acronym. And really what we wanna do is diversify the economy in Mesa County. And we wanna do that by bringing primary jobs to the area. So we focus on business recruitment, retention, and expansion in the area. And when we talk about primary jobs, a primary job is anything that pays over the median annual earnings in Mesa County, which right now is a little over $54,000 annually. Okay. So ,

Speaker 1: 8:23

Which has come up. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 8:24

Yeah. It's come up a lot. Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> . Um, and the incentives that we work with are all centered around primary jobs, so, which is great. Mm-Hmm.

Speaker 1: 8:33

<affirmative> . And you have a board of directors. How is it , how is GEP organized?

Speaker 2: 8:38

Yeah , so GEP is a 5 0 1 C3 nonprofit , and so we're publicly and privately funded. And so I report to a board. A lot of people think, oh, you know, GEP you're part of the city of Grand Junction, or you're part of Mesa County. That's not the case at all. And we enjoy having a little, little bit of, of freedom and flexibility and being our own nonprofit . Um, and it allows us to really get into the community , um, because we want our investors to, to really buy into what we're doing and, and be in the loop on what we're doing as well. So , um, GGEP was formed in, in 1984, which is hard to believe after the , um, black Sunday Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , you know , when , when ExxonMobil pulled out. And , um, man, it's, it's just been a growing organization ever since. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:23

Um, I know there's been questions from people in the past on what's the different role between GEP and the Chamber of Commerce. Can you speak to the, the different roles that you have in, in attracting and retaining businesses here?

Speaker 2: 9:36

Yeah, that's a , a really great question. And so, the City of Grand Junction in 2015 , um, they commissioned what was called the North Star Study. And so this study was all geared around economic development for Grand Junction, and a really great study , um, learned a ton as a community. And then through it, an MOU was created between GEP , the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce and the Business Incubator to really showcase how we can collaborate, who's the subject matter expert , expert at what, and how are we not going to swim in each other's lanes, basically. Right. And so the Chamber focuses on business retention and expansion. GEP focuses on business attraction, and we also collaborate on the expansion. And then the business incubator fo focuses on startup and entrepreneurship.

Speaker 1: 10:29

What a great triumvirate <laugh>. Right , right . Yeah . I mean, it's, it's really incredible. I don't know how many other communities have what we have here, not only with those three groups and really strong leadership, but then CMU and Yep . All the other things that go along with it. It's really incredible.

Speaker 2: 10:46

It is rare. It really is rare. And I've been to a lot of different communities and , um, we always get asked the question, how, or, you know, how are you doing it? And a lot of it comes down to the attitude of we don't care who gets credit for what, as long as we're winning a , as a whole with Mesa County. Absolutely. And if we can continue that mindset and , and not have egos, you know, in the room, but it's really, it's a collective effort and we're all locked up and we have been able to do that, especially under new leadership. So what's what's unique is, is the new leadership we have at all three positions.

Speaker 1: 11:19

Like yes. All three , uh, of those organizations have new leaders in the last two years. Right? Yep .

Speaker 2: 11:25

Yeah. And so that's been great to be able to level set Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and , um, have some really good conversations , um, with my, you know, fellow ed partners, and really just dive into how do we better collaborate, not just say we collaborate, but what are we actually doing to, to collaborate and, and really grow , uh, Mesa County in a , in a , um, controlled way, in a thoughtful way. And it's been a great partnership. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>.

Speaker 1: 11:52

So , um, what, what's your primary role? Are you , uh, what's your day to day look like? Are you traveling all the time? Are you going to meet with companies? Are you focusing on marketing? What does it look like on your day to

Speaker 2: 12:06

Day ? Yeah, all the above. Yeah . <laugh>. So day to day for me , um, is really running the , the organization and , and ensuring we are where we need to be. So we have a staff of five, and one of those is a part-time employee, but I have two, my deputy director as well as my business development manager, they are on the front lines when it comes to business recruitment and expansion. So , um, attending trade shows, having the one-on-one conversations Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , um, working really on that attraction piece is what they're up to. And then I have a marketing director, and she is very , uh, skilled with the targeted marketing and the outreach, and , um, has done an incredible job for us there. And then I have an office manager that who helps me with, you know, whether it be invoicing or meeting minutes or, or anything like that. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . But , um, one big thing that I do on top of all that too is the fundraising piece. So we're a 5 0 1 C3 , right ? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . Yep . And so we have to fundraise. If we want to grow our impact, we have to continue to fundraise. And so that's a big piece of my job as well too. But the thing I , what that I love about GEP is it's different every day . Yeah . You know, one day it's, it's meeting with our businesses, and the next day it might be more on the fundraising side, the next day it might be, you know, speaking at a, at a conference or an event. Yeah. And , um, so I just love the job and it's, it's been a really good change for me.

Speaker 1: 13:23

I'm excited for you. Uh , and there's just so many good things happening. Um, talk about some recent wins or challenges. What has the last year looked like in economic atra , uh, business attraction in Grand Junction?

Speaker 2: 13:37

Yeah. You know , um, 2023 ended up being a record year for GEP, and it did not start off that way, <laugh>. So we, when we were, we had a , a really good end to 2022, and we thought that momentum was gonna carry right into 2023, but it was, businesses hit the brakes and it became this wait and see mode, which I'm sure you are very familiar with.

Speaker 1: 13:59

It was very similar in the real estate market. Yeah . Yep .

Speaker 2: 14:02

Yep . And so we didn't have our first win, which we define a win as a relocation or expansion until August of 22, of 23, sorry, of 2023. And , um, but we set a goal as a staff. Uh , we wanted 10 wins was our goal. And we had one by August <laugh> , but we continued to keep grinding and keep fighting. We got this Yeah . And we ended up getting 10 wins. Seriously. We did. Yeah . Wow. That's fantastic. And so between , uh, 10 wins , um, 161 net new jobs for 2023 with 403 potential jobs, we're getting ready to re release our annual report . So these numbers are top of mind right now. Um, and we say potential jobs because as a business comes in, they're on a hiring schedule. Right. So they're not gonna hire everybody at once. Right . It's, it's over time . And then capital investment actually was over $20 million for 2023, so

Speaker 1: 14:53

That's fantastic. Well , and the goose , uh, goose gear , goose gear , uh, was has been in the news Yes . Lately the big announcement. That's fantastic. Absolutely. Relocating from California. Love hearing that. Yeah . And, and they are discovering what we all know, right? Yeah . This is a great place to live, work, and do business.

Speaker 2: 15:11

Absolutely. So, goose Gear , it was our first win for 2024. And so that one came about , uh, we were at the Overland Conference, which is an outdoor , uh, conference in the Denver area, and our business development manager, Matt Bell, was at that one, and he started talking with Goose Gear and tell 'em about Grand Junction, and they're like, oh yeah, we've, we've driven through Grand Junction a few times on our way to and from, and , um, started talking about, you know, their future plans. And what was unique about Goose Gear is they're expanding, but their lease rates are so high in Huntington Beach. Can you imagine that? It was, yeah. They ended, they couldn't find space, that space they were getting out-priced in the space they were in. So we started talking about Los Colonials , which is where we're at right now. And , uh, they ended up stopping that Sunday on their way back through, and we toured 'em all around Los Colonial . And that was kind like that first hook. And then from there, we're able to start doing some targeted marketing through our marketing director with them, really continue to explore and teach them about Grand Junction and, and the quality of life. And it ended up really being that quality of life that I would say got them over the edge.

Speaker 1: 16:19

Were they considering a move to the Denver area?

Speaker 2: 16:22

They were actually considering a move to either Reno, Nevada, Boise, Idaho, St . George, Utah, or Grand Junction. Wow. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 16:31

Great win.

Speaker 2: 16:32

It is a great win. And it really shows who we're competing against. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . It's not these smaller rural areas. We are competing against heavy hitters. And with us being able to win on this one, that's a big deal.

Speaker 1: 16:44

Well, I think you have a great website. I , I checked it all out. I love the video with our own Jen Taylor having a prominent position. Really good job on the marketing. Thank you. How do you , um, how do you find people to send that out to?

Speaker 2: 16:58

Yeah, so we use a lot of , um, whether it's , uh, Google Analytics , um, we use a lot of , uh, YouTube insights. Uh, we use LinkedIn as well and really target who we're sending those to, whether it's, you know, C level , C level , um, decision makers, that kind of thing. Um, but what's really unique about the Opportunity Zone video, it's now has over 42,000 views. And, you know, when you're watching a YouTube video, you can like click the ad , you can skip the ad. Yep . You know, well , people aren't doing that on this one. And so you can actually monitor that. And people are very engaged with, with , uh, that video, and not just that video, but Grand Junction in general, we are seeing so much engagement. Um, you know, the Goose Gear press release went out and we, we put it up , we put everything, you know, on Facebook, on Instagram, on, you know, all the, all the socials. Yeah. And , uh, Facebook is maybe, you know, seven likes, 10 likes, and we didn't do any boosting or anything. And we had over 500 different people like that post and start commenting on it. And then , um, what we're able to do then is when we have a big win, like a Goose gear , we take that and we start marketing it towards other outdoor manufacturing magazines, websites. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> platforms. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:17

Any other strategies you , you use to identify and attract new businesses to Grand Junction?

Speaker 2: 18:24

Yeah, so, you know, we, we do use a lot of , uh, different techniques, whether it's , um, just trade shows and it's meaningful trade shows. We're not just going to, you know, all kinds of different trade shows, but we try and be very specific with the trade shows. We do attend and we try our best to attend with the state of Colorado. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , if we can go with Colorado, people know where Colorado is. They don't always know where Grand Junction is. Yeah. But it gives us a foot in the door with some of these bigger companies. Um, and then, yeah, we also, word of mouth is huge as well. And then just our marketing, which you mentioned our , our website and , um, some of the posts we do on that really start driving up that attraction piece as well . Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . So , um, yeah, it's kind of all the above when it comes to how we're, how we're doing our, our prospecting. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:08

How do you measure the success? Uh, I mean, last year you wanted 10, what's what's 2024 looking like for you? What's your goal? Yeah,

Speaker 2: 19:18

So , um, we always want wins, right? And, but sometimes wins can be outside of our control. And so we follow an 80 20 rule at GEP 80% in our, in our control, 20% not, that's kind of what we, we follow. And so this year we really want to explore the different incentive opportunities from a tax saving purposes for both our existing businesses as well as relocating businesses. That's

Speaker 1: 19:44

Good to know. And

Speaker 2: 19:44

Yeah. And so our goal this year , um, we follow the four Disciplines of Execution, which is a Franklin Covey model called 40 x . It's a goal setting tool that , um, I've brought with me to the organization. And , um, big thing is, is establishing your X to Y by win, you know, so our , uh, goal, goal one is to , um, increase those employer savings through those state incentives from zero to , uh, 1,075,000 by the end of the year. And so a good example of that is Goose gear. So Goose gear , we are able to get them approved for a job growth incentive, tax credit. All these are performance based , so they don't happen unless the jobs are actually created and sustained and retained. And so Goose Gear , uh, projects 49 net new jobs. And so their job growth incentive tax credit is $535,000.

Speaker 1: 20:34

Fantastic. So that's 49 new jobs that they don't have within the company now. Right. Not just that they're bringing to our region.

Speaker 2: 20:41

They, they will try to bring positions with them. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Um, but there, it sounds like, you know, not everyone, obviously not everyone's gonna come. And then there's also new positions that are being created because with this comes an expansion, and so they have some new contracts that they just recently got, and they're also going to be , um, dipping their toes into the international market, which will also require new employees.

Speaker 1: 21:06

Fantastic. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So , uh, outdoor recreation is one sector that you're kind of targeting. What other business sectors are you looking at and who are we hoping to bring to Grand Junction? What kind of businesses?

Speaker 2: 21:19

Yeah, so we get asked all the time, what are your industries? What are you focusing on? And what I tell people is we focus on industries that are bringing primary jobs to the area. And so we're not gonna say no to any industry that's bringing those, right? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. But what we're seeing a lot of activity right now is healthcare. Um, aerospace has been really big as well, which

Speaker 1: 21:39

Is really cool to think about Grand Junction being an aerospace.

Speaker 2: 21:42

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. And, you know, WestStar Aviation Yeah . Is planning a big expansion Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> , which would be about 110 net new employees. Um, and so we're really excited about that one as well. Um, but we're also seeing the IT industry continue to grow as well. So , um, but , but we continue to really see growth across the board, and we've really seen our economy diversified really since about, you know, really 2016 is when we really started to see that, that shift. Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> in our local economy where we didn't have, we don't have all our eggs in one industry basket. It's, it's been really spread out, which has been nice to see . Uh ,

Speaker 1: 22:18

It's noticeable. What , what , what do you think got that ball rolling? What do you, how do you think that happened?

Speaker 2: 22:24

Well, you know, I think a lot of it was leadership. You know , um, I will tell you , Greg Caton , city manager , um, when he got here, he did an amazing job of really investing in this city and really , um, putting a mindset together on, on that growth. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and investing in ourselves and betting on ourselves, and then the outdoor manufacturing and then outdoor industries has really helped that a ton. Yeah. Um, and, you know, I think , uh, grand Junction always kind of used to be this , um, let's keep taxes low, let's, you know, ver and we we're not seeing that as much. We're seeing more , um, let's figure out how we can expand, let's figure out how we can attract. Um, but doing it in the right way, it's not just a , not quantity, it's definitely a quality aspect of it too. And I think you're seeing the results of that. Yeah. Right. So I think just , um, just the leadership and the buy-in that we've seen across the community , um, saying we have to make a change, you know, and it took so long to dig ourselves out of that great recession. Yeah. Um, and I think everyone's well aware of that and, and nobody wants to go back to that. So how do we continue to diversify? And we've done a really good job of it.

Speaker 1: 23:34

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, I , I feel like we need to have a sign at the county line, you know, that says like, this is a great place to, to bring your business. Here's the address of GEP . Give us a call. Yeah , yeah. You know, 'cause we, like you said , uh, when you're talking to Goose Gear , oh, we, we've driven through Grand Junction a number of times and we we hear that a lot. Yep . Oh, I've driven through, but I've never stopped. You don't know what you're missing.

Speaker 2: 23:57

Right. Yeah . Well, and, and, you know, it's good and bad having the interstate run through Grand Junction. It's great from, you know, a , a freight standpoint, but also people say, oh yeah, I've been through Grand Junction. Well, not really. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , you drove on the interstate that went through a Grand Junction, but you haven't actually been to Grand Junction. Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> , if you did, you would remember. Yeah . You would know. Right. And so I think that was kind of the case with Goose Gear when they got here. Um, I'll tell you what, they, they love Kiln coffee, <laugh> <laugh> . They spend all their time at Kiln Coffee. And that's something, you know, they never would've known if Yeah . If we didn't bring 'em in. And , um, yeah. So that's the , if you ever want to , if you ever want to go talk to some Goose Gear reps, kiln coffee, they'll be there. Okay. <laugh> ,

Speaker 1: 24:36

I know to take them . Yep . Curtis, what do you think are the biggest challenges facing Grand Junction in bringing new companies here?

Speaker 2: 24:45

Yeah. You know, workforce is, is a challenge. And that's not just in Mesa County. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , that's across the board. And, you know, it, it really coming outta the pandemic, it seemed, you know, there was mass layoffs, and then it was a little bit of a knee jerk reaction. Then it was like, okay, come on back. And then there was nobody there to take those jobs. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . And so we've still have been digging ourselves outta that, that employee shortage for , and we're still continuing to do that.

Speaker 1: 25:15

Every, every sector is feeling that, would you

Speaker 2: 25:17

Say? Yep . Most, most sectors, absolutely. Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> , in fact , um, I did the keynote address at the Workforce Summit , um, first annual Workforce Summit a few weeks ago, and I did some live polling. And I asked the question, are you, would you consider your organization understaffed, fully staffed overstaffed and overwhelming understaffed really still. So, yeah. So we still see, we still see that. And, you know, I think a lot, we, we, we are in a little bit of a , uh, identity crisis, or are we a rural area? Are we urban? You know what I mean? Yeah . And , and a lot of people think Grand Junction, Mesa County is rural, really rural, and it's really not the case. If you look at our infrastructure, you look at our workforce, you look at our university, it , you know, and so being able to dispel that a little bit, oh, I don't think, you know, our company would be able to, to do business there because you're so, you're , you're more rural. There's not, there's nobody there. Well , just let us convince you otherwise. And then once they're there, it's a much easier sell . Um, but those are some things I think we're up against, but it's, it's nothing that, that we can't overcome. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>

Speaker 1: 26:23

And GEP works countywide. Correct? Correct. So , um, you're promoting the business park in Fruita as well as down here and, and Palisade all the way across the county. What about some of the other communities surrounding us that are competing for these same businesses? I know Montrose has a business park and loves the outdoor recreation companies too. Yeah. How hard is that to, to you wanna work together with those communities? Right . It's a win for all of us if we bring 'em to the Western slope, but , um, there's also some competition there.

Speaker 2: 26:52

Yeah. Uh , I completely agree. I, I feel like what's good for Montrose is good for Grand Junction, what's good for Grand Junctions, good for Montrose. But there is times where, you know, we do come into this competitive realm and , um, I've done , I've tried my best to keep an open line of communication open with the Colorado Outdoors , uh, staff over there in Montrose and saying, you know, what makes sense for you? What are you guys looking for? Here's what we're looking for. And having those conversations. Um, and that, and that's helped a ton. Really, it has and helps us to partner more than compete. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . And , um, so that's been, that's been super helpful. But, you know, I think there's a, a special type of business that fits Montrose , um, and special type of business that fits the Grand Junction area in Mesa County. And I do think there are some differences there that allow us to collaborate better versus compete. Mm-Hmm.

Speaker 1: 27:42

<affirmative>, I'm sure there's just a, it's a different community and Yeah . And , um, they have different , uh, airport service than we do. Sure . And they don't have I 70, but you know, they have, well, I don't know. I haven't checked into their <laugh> their business situation down there. I don't know a whole lot about Montrose, but , um, uh, let's talk a a little bit more about Workforce, since you have such a , um, a background in that. Um, what are the organizations in Mesa County doing to help with the workforce? I know , um, as I just finished , um, a four year term on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce, that they have a hand in , uh, workforce very concerned about how that affects the businesses in Grand Junction. And then of course we have CMU Tech Yep . And CMU , um, how are all those organizations working together to ensure the continued strength of our workforce here?

Speaker 2: 28:38

Yeah. So one thing we do really well from a workforce perspective is collaborate. So just like economic development, workforce development, it's a team sport. Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> where no one's gonna solve it themselves. Right . And there's different steps for different walks of life and, and different seasons. And so, you know, I , the Workforce Center does an amazing job with, on-the-job trainings and internships and job readiness. And they have funding to pay for a lot of trainings, but they're not the training provider. And that's important to know, because we don't want, the Workforce Center doesn't need to be the training provider because you have CMU, right ? You have CMU Tech, same with the Chamber. They do a great job and are really starting to hone in their skills when it comes to , uh, work experiences. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and , and job trainings, but they're not the provider. Right? Right. And so being able to help fill that pipeline and grow that pipeline for CMU and for CMU Tech and vice versa. So CMU and CMU Tech can fill that pipeline for you as a business. Right. So when you do have an opening, you're able to fill it quickly with a quality job seeker , um, is huge. And so it , it's a collective effort. And, you know , uh, fruit and Palisade, their chambers are also doing an incredible job when it comes to workforce development. And for such small chambers, man, they, they pack a big punch with what they , they're able to do. Yeah, for

Speaker 1: 29:57

Sure. So Curtis, for the consumers that don't know how they can utilize the Workforce center Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> for either consumers, like a , a worker looking for a job or an employee or , uh, a business owner that is looking for workforce, how do they use the Workforce Center?

Speaker 2: 30:14

Yeah. So the Workforce Center also has a , a really good website that has all their services and programs listed. And, you know, so if just a few of the services that the Workforce Center offers that businesses might not know, you know, Mesa County is made up of a ton of small businesses. And so your CEO is also your CFO and your COO and your HR director and your it and the janitor. Right. So they don't have a ton of time to write a job description. The Workforce Center will do that for you. Or if you know, you're not quite sure where to post it, the Workforce Center will do that for you. Or if you're looking to do a hiring event, which is you come in the Workforce Center , uh, markets recruits and facilitates the whole event, and you're just there to interview the people that they have selected for you, great. The Workforce Center will do that for you . And then on the, on-the-job training internship piece, so the , the Workforce center will cover between 50 and 75% of the wages while you train your intern or your on the job training candidate. Um, and it's usually two to three months, they'll pay up to $5,500 per new employee, and then hopefully they become your permanent employee at the end of that work experience. Um, but if not, that's okay too. It's, you know, not everybody fits everywhere, so, yeah . Um, but it's a really good cost savings tool as well as a retention tool. And so anybody can visit the, the website, it's mcwc us and , uh, all of those programs are listed there as well as contact information.

Speaker 1: 31:44

Wonderful. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , thank you for that. So , um, what do you see on the horizon for GEP ? Um, what are you, what are you working on now? I'm sure people always want you to release a little bit of information. Yeah. And we know you have , you have to keep things under wraps, but do you have some things in the pipeline right now, or is things you're excited about? And, and what does the rest of 2024 look like for you ? I know we're just in February, but Yeah,

Speaker 2: 32:07

It's very optimistic. Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> about 2024. Um, we've already seen more activity in 2024 , uh, this early on than we did in 22 or 23. And, you know, it feels like businesses are getting a little bit more acclimated or used to this new , um, market, whether it be a little bit higher interest rates, we're still seeing Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> building costs being pretty high. So we're not seeing a ton of, of new builds, but the activity has been really big. And, and so , um, we had our first one with Goose Gear . We're getting ready to announce our second win , um, here Great . Soon, which is an international company , um, that's gonna be doing business in, in Mesa County, which is great news. Um, we also have, you know, some bigger , um, very well known companies that, that are investing in, in the Grand Junction area. And , um, so we are very excited about the continued growth , um, thoughtful growth of Mesa County as a whole. And , um, I think 2024 is gonna be a special year.

Speaker 1: 33:07

I think so too. We're super optimistic on the real estate side. We just need those interest rates to come down a little bit. Yes . And it's really gonna break things open. I think one of the challenges that we're seeing is that sellers don't want to sell. Yeah . 'cause their interest rates on their mortgages are so low. Yep . And so not sure what that, that , uh, Delta is, you know, how, what's the delta between the interest rate you've got now and the one Yeah . That you could get if you had to buy another home. Um, so, you know , if we get under six, it's gonna be crazy around here again. Yes . But yeah , I , I know , I would love to see that the , you know, I know that the housing affects companies that are thinking about coming here too. Yes . Is that a conversation you have with every company that you interview?

Speaker 2: 33:48

It is. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . Yeah. You know, cost of living used to be a big strength of ours. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , it's not so much anymore. And so you , you , but you take , it's all about perspective. You look at Goose gear coming from Huntington Beach, not once have they mentioned <laugh> . Right. Cost of living. Right . Cost

Speaker 1: 34:03

Of living seems great to them . Yeah .

Speaker 2: 34:04

Yeah . Cost living seems great to them . But you know, on the, our our current employer base and some of our big employers, we're having very , um, serious conversations about cost of living and, and housing specifically. Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> for their employees. And, and these are very well paid employees who can't either afford a house or can't find a place to live. And so there's a lot of multi-family coming online. Yes. Which will be super helpful. I

Speaker 1: 34:32

Think so too.

Speaker 2: 34:33

Um, but at the same time that's, it's, it's not necessarily workforce housing or, or affordable housing. It's still quite costly. And , um, so it is a real concern when it comes to cost of living here and , um, something that we, we gotta get under control.

Speaker 1: 34:48

I do think though, that all the, the multifamily and the apartments especially are gonna be a big help because it's a product that we haven't really had in our market for a long time, at least not in a large number. Yep . Uh , and to see the projects that have been built in the last couple years, filling up so quickly is a great sign. And I think that we're excited on the real estate sales side to see , um, you know, people getting into, people being able to come to our community kind of as a starter. Yeah . You know, like, let's go check Grand Junction out. Yeah . And , uh, if we can get into a modest apartment, then we can get a job and see how we like it. And Yeah . I think it's gonna allow more people to come here. Um, the rental market's been super tight over the last couple of years. It has . So it's been challenging. So,

Speaker 2: 35:29

You know what's interesting too about the multifamily that's going up, I don't think you'll find better views. Right. Anywhere that , I mean, like, these are these , uh, complexes that are being put up and the locations that were made available to them. I mean, the views are insane. Like you , you know, some of the stuff at Do Rios and , uh, over here at, you know, Los Colonial and downtown, I mean, you got the monument, you got Mount Garfield, you got Grand Mesa. It's just, I , yeah. It's awesome.

Speaker 1: 35:56

And my kids went to Wingate and , uh, first day of school and I would always take a picture and post it on social media and my friends from around the country, like, that's your Yeah . Your school <laugh> . Yeah . Look at that view and it , you kind of forget. Yeah . You

Speaker 2: 36:08

Forget it . Yeah .

Speaker 1: 36:08

It's really nice. Yeah .

Speaker 2: 36:09

I guess that is nice. Yeah .

Speaker 1: 36:11

Well, Curtis, thank you for being here today. Is there anything else you'd like to share about , uh, GEP or economic outlook for Grand Junction?

Speaker 2: 36:18

You know, I appreciate the time and, and , um, if, you know, really when it comes to a resilient economy, we have to be a diverse, a diversified economy and Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> and that's what we're trying to do at GEP. And , um, you know, I , I definitely want people to know that we are very thoughtful with, with who we're, we're hoarding. Um, and we wanna interview them to make sure we're a good fit for them just as well as they're a good fit for us. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . And so that's really what we're trying to do. And, and one other thing too, when we talk about incentives and, and I mentioned Goose Gears incentives, all our incentives are performance based , you know, so it never , are we giving a company cash to move here? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , we , we would not do that, we would never do that. It has to be performance based . So it's based off of the number of jobs and how long you retain those jobs. And , and that's really important to know , um, if you're, if you're not familiar with, with the GEP and what we do and, and how we do it, we wanna be very selective with who we are bringing over into the area.

Speaker 1: 37:17

Well, Curtis , um, congratulations on all the wins that you've had in the last couple of years and best of luck in 2024. And it's gonna be a great year for Mesa County, not only in the economy, but just , um, bringing new talent, bringing new life to the community every day . I think what you do all what you all do is amazing.

Speaker 2: 37:36

So . Well, thank you. Really appreciate it. It's uh, definitely something I'm passionate about and , um, love it.

Speaker 1: 37:41

It shows. Thank you . It really shows. Thank you. Alright everybody, this is Christie Reese signing off with their full Circle podcast. We'll see you next time. Thanks. Thanks for listening. This is Kristy Reese signing out from the Full Circle Podcast .