I never thought I'd be starting a professional blog. For that matter, I never expected to be taking over a role in economic development, but it seems that 2017 will be the year for me to begin new adventures. I'm ready.

I started working for the City of Texarkana, Texas in November of 2013 as the Public Information Officer. Before that, I was the President of the Atlanta Area Chamber of Commerce. While I was working in Atlanta, I met Jerry Sparks, an extremely talented economic development professional who worked for the City of Texarkana. Jerry and I immediately found common ground in a desire to  develop and redevelop in communities who were facing uphill battles; though they were different, they were much the same. Jerry was the guest speaker at my Chamber banquet in 2013.
Shortly after, he brought a group of city staff down to Atlanta to see a project that we had recently completed in downtown- a pocket park in a space we had demolished a derelict building using 4A/4B funds. The group was warm and fun, and I quickly realized how much I missed working with a team of professionals. Chamber work is lonely!

Jerry mentioned the city was hiring, jokingly. He followed up a week later. I jumped on the chance to join a team and continue my career in public service. Plus, he promised a plush office in a beautiful downtown building. I didn't catch the sarcasm.

Let me start by explaining my journey into economic development. It has been a quick, but winding road.

I graduated in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and Journalism from the University of Central Arkansas. I was a graduate of the Norbert Schedler Honors College, and moved home to marry my sweetheart two weeks after graduation. After approximately ten days of being home, and moved into our new house in small town USA, I realized I had to work. Somewhere-- anywhere.

I took a job working at a talk radio station doing news and weather. I had to be at work at 6am, a stark difference from the college student who refused to schedule an 8am class. Out of boredom, and maybe a little bit of desperation, I applied for the William J. Clinton School of Public Service Graduate School. It was a long shot, to say the least. I lost my father that summer. To compound the emotions of moving home, being a newlywed, and losing my father in the span of eight months, I wa accepted into the 4th class, along with 25 other wildly impressive students from 11 states and five countries, including Uganda, Brazil, Poland, Indonesia, and the Ukraine. I still feel like it might have been an accident that they let me in.

I completed my Masters of Public Service in May of 2010, with a seven month old on my hip. I had to travel abroad for 8 weeks to complete one component of the curriculum and happened to be six months pregnant when it was time to go. In the early stages of that pregnancy I drove back and forth to Little Rock twice a week for class-- morning sickness and all. I have never been more determined to finish something than I was in that program.

While I was in grad school, I worked part-time at Opportunities, Inc. as a grant writer. I learned so much from the powerful ladies that ran this non-profit. I learned the names and faces of some of the key players in Texarkana, but more than that, I learned about the community who loves the ones who need it the most.

Just before graduation, I was hired as the Public Relations Director for Texarkana College. I began work at TC in 2009, one month exactly after welcoming our first son into the world. I worked with Suzy Irwin at TC, during the financial crisis of the college, and during one of the most politically tumultuous times in the institution's history. Suzy taught me so many things, the most valuable of which were  in grace and class. There were many tough, tough days at TC, but the highlights included being able to help open TC @ TexAmericas and TC on Main in Atlanta. Those projects, along with the workforce projects I was involved with were truly my introduction to economic development.

Communication and public relations have been the catalyst which has afforded me the opportunity to be involved in many types of work during my career so far, but it seems that all roads have ultimately led to economic development.

After the college, my work at the Chamber in Atlanta was dedicated to redevelopment of the downtown area, business support and promotion city-wide, and supporting the city's efforts to attract new business and expand existing ones. I also managed the City's Tourism Committtee and worked closely with the City Development Corporation. Valuable lessons in politics and interpersonal communication were learned in Atlanta. My time spent at the AACOC allowed me to "cut my teeth" in economic development.

Recently, I completed a post-graduate professional certificate from Texas Christian University. I was part of the third cohort to become Certified Public Communicators-- a year long program in which I became better at my craft of communicating in the public realm and serving a greater common good. I'm very proud of this accomplishment. Founders Dr. Jacque Lambiase and Dr. Laura Bright are cranking out vetted professionals with a desire to improve the field, and I'm continually impressed with the caliber of the curriculum and participants. You can find more info about that program here. Now that this certificate is behind me, it's time to focus on the next horizon.

Let's cut to the chase:

Over the past year, it's become abundantly clear that I'll have the chance to deepen my understanding of the Texarkana community, and economic development by filling the position Jerry will retire from later this year. I'm excited.

This blog will serve as a place to collect my thoughts as I complete the training necessary to become a Certified Economic Developer through the International Economic Development Council. If you want to check out the rigorous program I'm enrolled in, you can see it here. I have SO much to learn, but the fact that Jerry is willing to teach me, and let me shadow him in the next few months, ensures that there will be a seamless transition at city hall. As far as the certification, let it suffice to say, there are only 1,100 certified economic developers in the world, and the test at the end of the program to gain certification has only a 30% pass rate. No pressure.

 By the way, I'll still be the City's Public Information Officer, in addition to taking on this new role. Challenging? Yes. Busy? Yes. But I wouldn't have it any other way

In the blog, I want to share what I've learned. I want to write some things down so I can revisit them later, and ideally put the concepts into practice for the City I serve. Hopefully along the way, I'll convince everyone that I might actually know what I'm talking about when it comes to Economic Development. If not, I'll just have to prove it in the years to come.