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Concurrently, our staff has seen firsthand much of the pain and uncertainly being endured by local business leaders. It has given rise to a collective and urgent need to respond as an organization.
In the sharing and collection of these experiences, through discussions with our Executive Committee and Board of Directors, we, collectively, felt compelled to address these concerns and devise a plan of action. A focus on quickly turning around that plan of action was critical and a working draft of an Appendix to the Bay Future: Drive. Forward. strategic action plan, that we announced in December of 2019, that addresses immediate concerns of economic recovery, developed.
This Strategic Action Plan Addendum is necessary for several reason. First, and most obvious, we cannot overlook and ignore the current economic plight among many of our businesses have and will continue to struggle with now and post-pandemic. Before we effectively address matters of longer-term economic development significance, as was outlined in our strategic plan, we must address the immediate needs of economic recovery in our business community. Secondly, we believe that our community and our investors would and should expect this of us. As stewards of those hard-earned dollars, those who invest in us for economic development results and return on investment for their organizations, and for the community, should have an expectation that BFI lead and engage in these types of activities, meeting the challenges they pose, head on. And lastly, on a very practical basis, economic development resources, specifically financial resources, are being allocated and are aimed toward the economic recovery of business so too must we be. In participation and coordination with our state-wide partners, including the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), it is our duty to assess and address these immediate needs and concerns and to secure the financial resources available and necessary to support economic vitality throughout Bay County.
As a result, we have fast-tracked the composition and discussion of the Strategic Action Plan Addendum. Through an urgent and expedited process, we have worked diligently with the support of our BFI Board of Directors to complete this plan in a matter of weeks. This will become BFI’s roadmap for action and engagement for the next two years through post-pandemic recovery.
In just a few weeks, on September 23, 2020, we will be sharing that plan with you as a part of our re-scheduled Annual Meeting. We are looking forward to engaging with the community in a virtual and safe format to provide a wrap-up of economic development projects from the previous year and to update attendees on the activities BFI has industriously been working on through the pandemic. We truly believe this is the most opportune course of action our organization can take to lead the recovery efforts of the Bay County economy along with so many of our partners. I’m looking forward to sharing this update with you and to working together for an auspicious and prosperous future!
Happy reading and stay safe,
-Trevor Keyes, EDFP
President & CEO
Bay Future, Inc.
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President & CEO’s Message
