This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Longmont, CO: The Longmont Economic Development Partnership (EDP), in partnership with the City of Longmont has for the past 27 years managed a volunteer “ELEVATE Committee” that conducts business outreach visits for the community on an annual basis. Part of the Longmont EDP’s efforts to promote a strong local economy includes contacting all of the city’s existing primary employers on an every-other-year basis to identify trends, gather strategic intelligence, address concerns, identify new opportunities, and offer support.
According to Longmont EDP president Jessica Erickson, “The ELEVATE acronym: Engage, Listen, Educate, Value, Acknowledge, Tell the Story, and Execute, really provides a framework for how the committee volunteers, as well as Longmont EDP staff and partners, communicate that participating in these engagement visits is really as much about adding value to their business as it is about collecting data to monitor the local economy.”
In addition to surveying businesses, ELEVATE Longmont volunteers are trained to be able to educate companies about resources available through the Longmont EDP, and to listen for opportunities for the Longmont EDP to provide assistance and solutions for individual businesses.
ELEVATE Longmont volunteers will begin contacting employers next week for 2018 engagement visits. Highlights of the primary industry survey results from last year included:
- 69% of our companies reported increased sales in 2017.
- 72% of Longmont’s responding companies have expansion plans in the next three years with an estimated 52 new jobs and $14,300,000 in capital investment.
- 100% of companies stated there are no barriers to growth in Longmont.
- 90% of companies responding anticipate new products.
Monty Meduna with First National Bank and Chair of the ELEVATE Longmont Committee commented that “Longmont is fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers who work with businesses to gather the survey information”. He added “This information in turn helps the Longmont EDP and City of Longmont retain and attract businesses that are critical to Longmont’s economic health.”
This is a press release issued by the Longmont Economic Development Partnership and is published here by the Longmont Observer as a public service.
