Jason worked with a coalition of 24 partner organizations to engage the community in economic development planning. Several interactive community forums, one using electronic polling, were attended by hundreds of citizens, whose ideas form the basis of the resulting Prosperity That Fits plan. The plan details specific strategies for balancing growth and environment, supporting both traditional (agriculture) and emerging (nanotechnology) industries, and harnessing growth in the local employment base to enhance local quality of life.
“Jason was great to work with. He was able to move people toward common ground and come up with a plan that is consistent with community values and still creative and innovative. He helped us shift the community perception from strategic economic development being viewed as negative to embracing it as a way to achieve our community goals and maintain our community for the long term. It is important to note that this has been attempted, but no one had succeeded in this effort for over 30 years. No one had previously managed to get these 24 organizations and institutions to work together collaboratively.”
