By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
An economic development director for the greater Kansas City area tells a St. Joseph audience that working together benefits everyone.
Kansas City Area Development Council President Tim Cowden says the one step every community must take to seize economic opportunity is to be prepared.
“You cannot take away the importance of being prepared, having your ducks in a row, making sure that the leadership is supportive of growth and development,” Cowden tells reporters. “Making sure that you have the best individuals on the frontline to represent the community to new companies and to new talent.”
Cowden spoke to a crowded room at the St. Joseph Country Club during the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce chairman’s breakfast Tuesday.
Cowden says the recently established animal health corridor holds great promise for St. Joseph.
“St. Joe is a big part of this animal health corridor that extends from the University of Missouri at Columbia all the way back over to the west to Kansas State University in Manhattan,” Cowden says. “So, St. Joe is right in the middle of that. The companies that are here, like Boehringer Ingelheim, the talent that’s here, the innovation that comes out of St. Joe, and has for generations.”
Cowden says the biggest difference in the highly competitive economic development field is whether a company feels confident about a community’s leaders.
“That, at the end of the day, when decisions are made, the confidence that you can instill with your customer, that your team’s going to be there to deliver when it matters; it matters at the end of the decision-making process.”
Cowden says the Kansas City Area Development Council incorporates communities on both sides of the state line, well into Kansas as well as north to St. Joseph. Cowden says that by working together, the communities can present a stronger case for businesses to locate in the region.