Choctaw Nation Senior Manager of Economic Development, Craig Haney, spoke at the Poteau Rotary Club’s weekly meeting on January 4 at Eastern Oklahoma Medical Center, discussing not only his primary duties as an economic developer, but also his 3 I also talked about two keys.
“The job of economic developers is to seek to maintain and expand employment, improve the quality of life for all citizens concerned, and provide a stable tax base,” Haney said. “I work for[the Choctaw]but really I work for the community. I’ll try to find it somewhere. What I can do.”
According to Haney, these are the three keys to successful economic development.
“The International Conference on Economic Development calls my work the three-legged chair for economic development,” he said. “There are business attractiveness, business maintenance and growth, and entrepreneurship. We have to nurture the business and help them. We grow the business that’s here, we take care of it, we attract business. We do the best we can.”
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce plays a big role in attracting business.
“A lot of what we’re working on comes from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce,” Haney said. “Often, consultants representing companies want to expand in addition to relocating. We have a highly advanced economic system, developed compared to other states. Upload and send, you can ride there and see all incoming projects. We provide information. That’s the first step. We send it to our contact list. Some are as small as city councilors and someone in industry. Board members of developments and councils and presidents of banks. We send it (all the information) to them. We talk about the different properties they have, whether it’s public or private.It’s information about these.It’s not just property information.It’s what sewers are on the premises. , who provides water and wastewater treatment, and even electricity, what excess capacity is there in the city. The companies and consultants see that and pay close attention to what we put out.”
Of the three dimensions of economic development, the most exciting part is the stage of business maintenance and expansion.
“That’s the fun part,” Haney said. “We spend a lot of time going around existing businesses and industries towards the end of the year. I try to identify what they need and help them get it.”
One thing that helps with the entrepreneurship stage is dealing with trade shows.
“One of the things we started recently is networking trade show events,” Haney says. “We go in under the guise of Choctaw (National) tourism. We set up Choctaw National tourism booths and advertise in the 10-county area, but in reality you walk through the door and Where is the place to talk to these companies? They’ve been pretty successful and we’re having a good time with these.”
Haney is currently working on a local project through Choctaw Nation Ecomonic Development.
“There are site visits,” he said. “We’ve done some work on the Poteau, especially the Tiger Truck building. It’s a big project of mine. When I first started, I said I wanted someone to work at the beginning of my year. (For Choctaw National Economic Development) .The first year didn’t go well, but I think some good things are coming. We think there are several possibilities.
“There is also a web search for consultants. Sometimes consultants call me directly. They may have seen our website and know about Poteau. economic development) and we want our consultants to keep me in their pockets. We’re doing what we can to let people know who we are and that we’re here to help. Sometimes that’s the hard part — just break down that door.”
