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Press Release
IGI Adopted During Unprecedented
Joint Meeting of Several Community Boards
In an unprecedented joint meeting between the Tyler City Council and
several community boards, the Tyler Industry Growth Initiative (IGI) was
formally adopted as a shared vision for Tyler’s strategic economic
growth in the next 20 years.
Boards represented include the Tyler City Council, Smith County
Commissioner’s Court, Tyler Independent School District Board of
Trustees, Tyler Junior College Board of Trustees, the Tyler Metro
Chamber of Commerce and the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce. Also
represented at the meeting were members of the Leadership Roundtable,
including the University of Texas – Tyler, UT Health Science Center,
Texas College, East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, the
Tyler Economic Development Council, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and
Clinics, and others.
“I don’t know of another time in Tyler’s history that so many of its
elected boards held a joint meeting to adopt a single measure,”
commented Mayor Barbara Bass. “This level of support demonstrates the
need for the entire community to speak with one voice and work
cooperatively for the sake of Tyler’s economic future.”
“The Industry Growth Initiative will affirm that a community is only as
strong as it's public school system,” said Ron Vickery, President, Tyler
ISD Board of Trustees Single Member District 7. “Tyler is strong, but
today it's leaders stand and say we can be stronger. We are thankful for
the City leaders and the mission of the Initiative, partnering with
other sectors of our community, to build a better Tyler.”
In early 2009, Mayor Barbara Bass and Senator Kevin Eltife brought
together a group of community leaders to discuss shared issues facing
the city and region. One of the first items that was raised by this
Leadership Roundtable was the need to market Tyler and to determine the
industries that made the most sense for Tyler to pursue given our unique
assets.
Consequently, the Leadership Roundtable began the development of the
Industry Growth Initiative in mid 2009. The report recommends 10 primary
building blocks that Tyler should develop to foster an Innovation
Economy and take the Tyler region into the next twenty years of economic
prosperity and growth.
“Our objective with this initiative is to pinpoint the industries that
make the most sense to focus resources on given Tyler’s unique
characteristics,” said Mayor Bass. “We can’t focus solely upon
traditional manufacturing for our economic vitality. We want to continue
our efforts to diversify our economic base while preparing ourselves for
the evolving global economy.”
The 84 page report, which was commissioned and funded by members of the
Leadership Roundtable, contains strategic tactics focused on achieving
an Innovation Economy which brings higher paying jobs, economic growth,
job creation and a higher standard of living.
“The 21st Century economy is defined by an innovative and
entrepreneurial culture,” said economist Paul Umbach of Tripp Umbach and
Associates. “This means that Tyler must position itself to attract an
educated workforce with high-tech, entrepreneurial skills. This does not
mean that legacy industries that have made Tyler what it is should be
ignored, but rather this plan provides strategies to build upon an
already solid foundation.”
The plan calls for the launch of a public private partnership that
evolves from the Leadership Roundtable that will oversee the
implementation of the strategies.
“The Leadership Roundtable is the perfect group to
drive the implementation of this plan,” said Senator Eltife. “It is
representative of the community with members from the healthcare sector,
higher education, our public school system, business community,
government and non-profits. This is critical to our success as now is
the moment when we need to speak with a unified voice and pursue a
unified vision.”
Other building blocks toward the Innovation Economy include strategies
focused on Higher Education, Healthcare and Bio-Med, Tourism, Arts and
Entertainment, 21st Century Energy, Retiree, Infrastructure, Graduate
Education and 21st Century Transportation.
“Developing a broad plan for our economic future that provides
strategies for a wide cross section of our community is important
because we must all be working toward a common goal if we are going to
remain competitive,“ added Mayor Bass.
The draft plan was completed in December and vetted with community
stakeholders over the last four months. The plan was amended based upon
that feedback and the final plan was adopted today by boards
representing the entire community.
The plan can be viewed at www.TylerIGI.com
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