By Nicky Boyette –
January
- Mike Maloney, executive director of the City Advertising and Promotion Commission, announced 2015 was another banner year for collections. He said he will continue to engage the digital process in advertising the city.
- Chair Sandy Martin said the promotional toolkit she developed will be ready to present to businesses in an effort to entice them to move to Carroll County. She suggested they get creative with incentives to pull businesses to the area.
- Health services and the mountain biking industry were mentioned as possible niche markets to pursue.
- Dan Hebert announced he had spoken with Phillip Stafford of the Technology Development Foundation of the University of Arkansas, also known as the business incubator program, and had invited him to a Task Force meeting.
February
- Martin reported she, Hebert and Eureka Springs Mayor Butch Berry visited the UofA incubator program in Fayetteville. She said two business ideas hatched at the incubator had been bought by international companies, and Hebert mentioned the incubator has spun off businesses to cities along the I-49 corridor. Stafford conjectured that Eureka Springs was better suited to expanding from within than bringing in businesses from the outside. He questioned whether Eureka Springs had the workforce available for certain businesses.
- Martin announced she would stage a G60 event, which is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas in 60 seconds before a panel of judges. The events had been successful in other venues around the state. May 24 was picked as the date.
- Kent Butler said a group from the CAPC, the Chamber and the Great Passion Play collaborated on a way to improve the dissemination of leads of potential customers to businesses, such as tourist lodgings, which can use them.
- Woodie Acord said he had spoken with several local residents who work from home to see what brought them here. Included among his interviewees were a professional screenwriter and a software engineer for a large computer company. He learned some of them came here for various reasons such as vacations or following a love interest, and they liked the town so much they never left. He pointed out these individuals could afford to buy homes here, and the city could use their testimonials to attract others who want an easier lifestyle.
March
- Lawrence Blood, district manager of Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District, attended the meeting, and discussion turned toward thinking of the county as a whole and strengthening communication between cities.
April
- Martin reported that she completed a week long training conducted by the International Economic Development Council in Little Rock where she learned from business leaders and people in all levels of city and county government, “There are lots of broke cities. We’re not the only one.” She said those at her conference view Eureka Springs as a place ready to grow.
- Much was made about the dearth of full-time 12-month employment as a reason families do not move here. This situation adds to the perception of a limited workforce here. Also, foot traffic compared to cost per square foot turns away investors and merchants.
June
- Martin announced the Task Force had a presence on the Internet at eurekaspringsliveworkplay.us. On the site is the toolkit she developed as a tool for guiding someone through the process of moving to town. The site features tabs to history of Eureka Springs, what you need to know to start a business here, local incentives and a thorough list of important contacts.
- Martin also reported the board and staff of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation held their June meeting at Keels Creek Winery in Eureka Springs. She commented the Foundation board was impressed with the local creative economy, the collaboration among agencies and the regional approach to economic development.
- Jacqueline Wolven, executive director of the Eureka Springs Downtown Network, suggested the city needs to develop a city-wide campaign “to tell our story differently.” She said all the stories she hears from citizens refer to the past. She said the story should shift toward entrepreneurship and opportunity, not just stories for tourists.
- Martin reported the G60 entrepreneur challenge event went well, and sponsor Startup Junkie wants to put on another one. Twenty-five aspiring entrepreneurs pitched their ideas, and Raymond Ulibarri and Christi Brown each won a $1000 prize.
October
- What does Eureka Springs produce that could be part of a statewide effort to establish trade relations with other countries? Martin mentioned local art might find a market somewhere and pointed out Asia has manufacturers but might need designers. The short list of ideas for locally-produced items possibly in the export conversation included coffee, wine, salsa, clothing, bath products, herbal products drums and canoes.
- The group discussed why a brewery should make it in Eureka Springs and the impact mountain biking could have on the local economy.
November
- Martin and others noted that for some shops and restaurants, October might have been the best month they have ever had. The Great Passion Play had its best month in 15 years.
- Tammy Thurow, president of the Chamber of Commerce, distributed data her staff had been collecting since May 1 about visitors who came through the Visitor Center, indicating clusters of visitors’ home addresses matched well with where the City Advertising and Promotion Commission places its ads. Discussion eventually wended its way toward how to get even better data on visitors, and the group developed a plan, which Martin said would cost nothing and would be an example of the CAPC, the Chamber, the Task Force and the community collaborating.