By Jordan Leonard, Emery County Economic Development Director
When we talk about economic development there a few things that we work on in our office. If we focus on the following areas, we will have a bright future for 2017 and beyond:
- Support Entrepreneurs
- Support Local Business First
- Retain and Grow Local Business
- Help Start New Businesses
- Downtown Revitalization
- Support Agriculture
- Visitor Amenities
- Rural and Geotourism
As we look to 2017, the future looks bright for our energy industries and our natural resource production. We hope that the new presidential administration will relieve the pressure of the EPA regulations on our energy-based companies.
In addition, we have been working closely with the State of Utah to change the regulations on the Fast Track Grants. We are hoping to make this grant more accessible to our businesses by getting the full-time wage requirement reduced. We have also been pursuing tech and manufacturing companies to look at our area and will be able to officially announce, in the near future, the details of a new manufacturing business coming to Emery County.
We have also been working with Castle Country BEAR (Business Expansion And Retention) on human capital recruitment. There are people that want to move to our area but need to be able to find an opportunity for employment. Therefore, we are trying to create an e-mail database where interested parties can be notified when a career type job opens up to see if they are a fit to fill the vacant positions.
The future of Emery County is bright, and we are excited to be a part of helping it move forward!
Events 2017
2017 is going to be full of exciting activities for Emery County! The year kicked off with the Millsite On Ice Fishing Tournament and hosted 133 fishermen! Start watching www.millsiteonice.com in November for details on next years event.
Following is a list of a few of the events to be looking forward to this upcoming year (watch the Emery County Events Facebook page for specific event information as it becomes available):
April: MECCA Bike Club Spring Festival (watch www.biketheswell.org for updates)
July 28-29: RMPRA Rodeo
August 3-5: Emery County Fair: The theme for the fair this year is Dream Big. There will be a lot of BIG things coming to the fair including Monster Trucks, a UTV Rodeo, a Big Name Singer, contests galore with some big prizes, and so much more! emerycountyfair.com
September 6-9: Arapeen ATV Jamboree: This year’s Jamboree will be headquartered out of Castle Valley Outdoors and space is limited so sign up now if you want to join in on the fun at www.arapeenatvjam.com!
September: MECCA Bike Club Fall Festival (watch www.biketheswell.org for updates)
October 19-22: Joe’s Valley Bouldering Festival. Details can be found at www.joesvalleyfest.com
Emery County is doing all it can to provide opportunities to bring joy, entertainment and excitement to our local community but attendance is what makes the wheels keep turning so make sure to get out and support the activities that the individual cities and the county bring!
For questions on upcoming events, you can email Amanda at events@emery.utah.gov