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| This week I had the honor and privilege of learning all about ST Engineering in Singapore. Our local delegation has spent the last several days finalizing an agreement to bring 1,400 good jobs to Pensacola. In the process of doing this, we have met the top leadership of this firm and we have toured their facilities and learned all about their various capabilities and business lines worldwide. The knowledge we have gained and the relationships we have forged this week have been tremendous----- and will benefit Escambia County with positive dividends for years to come! |
I have been in Singapore this week meeting with leaders of VT Engineering. Tomorrow we will sign an historic agreement that will bring nearly 1,400 more good jobs to Pensacola.
Developing a diversified jobs base is critical to the long-term future of our community. Doing this means sometimes we must travel to meet would-be jobs creators.
This week I have had the honor and privilege of meeting all of the top brass from ST Engineering. This company is the worldwide leader in Aviation Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services.
When we close this deal tomorrow, secure the funding from Triumph gulf coast, and begin with construction of three additional MRO hangars and an administrative facility at Pensacola Airport--this will be a tremendous win for Escambia County and Pensacola.
This project, once completed, will inject $400 Million into our local economy yearly while employing over 5000 citizens (direct and indirect jobs). This is a win on the same level as was our win with bringing in Navy Federal Credit Union to Pensacola for their campus in Beulah.
Unfortunately, there are some that feel this sort of effort is somehow "not appropriate" for a local government to be involved in.
Some naysayers actually go further and say we should NOT do ANY economic development projects. Many of these same folks believe bringing NFCU to Beulah was a "Mistake"
I can't have a rational conversation with folks that cannot see the value in working to bring the NFCU's and the ST Engineering's to Pensacola. We must constantly be working to bring these sorts of initiatives home to our community--or else we are not doing our jobs.
This week, I have been criticized in the press for taking this trip I'm on currently; I've been accused of wasting taxpayer money.
But I reject these accusations because they are ridiculous, naive, and short-sighted!
Developing personal relationships is how progress happens.
Getting to know the top leadership of ST Engineering is worth the money spent doing so.
As this current project moves forward, I feel confident that other good projects will follow that will benefit our community---projects that may never have materialized had we not come to Singapore to meet the leadership at ST Engineering this week.
Additionally---this project will further grow a booming industry in our area and will facilitate the establishment of a "pipeline" for students to move into this business if they so choose.
And this pipeline will begin in elementary school for those students who show interest in working with their hands in this field. This will create opportunities for MANY students in the inner-city communities of Pensacola who otherwise would never be exposed to this field of study.
How can the value of this alone be quantified? Answer: It can't be. The money spent is worth it if it allows folks a new pathway to the middle class that didn't exist previously.
And this project has the very real potential of positively changing the trajectory of many young peoples' lives in our area and giving these same citizens a pathway to the middle class that might otherwise not exist.
But some narrow segments of the public locally scoff at this---and they belittle these efforts.
Sadly, these naysayers will always take shots at the leaders that engage in the work of economic development. This will not change.
But leaders that know the value of Business Development and Economic Development must never collapse from this pressure--there is simply too much at stake if we back away from these efforts and allow other communities to snatch these opportunities away from us because "some citizens" don't like leaders travelling to promote job creation.
Thank God the majority of citizens understand the value and tremendous benefits derived from Economic Development projects that bring good jobs to our area. Thank God for the intelligent, rational, understanding "silent majority."
They GET it, where others will NEVER "get it."
5 comments:
Thank you for working for us and keeping us up to date on the happenings a world away. I was interested in seeing the travel amounts from the Underhill D-2 commissioner for the last 3-years posted on both Citizens watch (though J'Aimee Blackheart Rogers, buried Underhills amounts). I am outraged that his aide, J. Owens spent $11,000 in travel. Underhillls spent $15,000 for a total of $26,000. No outrage from J'Aimen Blackheart on D-2 Underhills spendthrift ways. keep working hard for us.
Great work, Jeff, keep it up!
I think the next question is how we can get the inner-city students interested in these jobs and to create the belief in themselves that they are capable of performing these jobs? I am wondering how many students from middle class families take these jobs as opposed to the poor, inner city kids? I think creating more opportunity is important, but we also need to create a culture where the students feel they are capable of having these jobs. I think many times inner city students just don't think they can do something like, "I can build an airplane." So I think we have to try and change the mentality a lot of young students have about themselves and their ability to have a high paying job like building airplanes.
Unknown-thanks for the compliment. Anonymous 11:09--thanks and I agree....my office spends $2,150 yr on travel, training and conferences. District 2, by contrast, spends three times as much per year (nearly $6,500)on travel, training and conferences. But they want to complain about me? Nobody else has an aide like the District 2 aide that travels this much, nearly $11,000 so far--more than most commissioners including me. I sent this information to Jacqueline Rogers'site and another facebook site simultaneously. The other site posted it, whereas "ECW" buried it and questioned the figures. That is why that site and its operator have ZERO credibility, people know they are not to be taken seriously, just an angry, hateful spiteful echo chamber of "Cliques" If you are in the clique, you can do anything and be hailed as a saint. If you are Jeff Bergosh--you could walk on water and they would say "look--Jeff Bergosh can't swim!!!"
Looks like more people are finally reading your blog. Maybe there is hope for more free exchange when they realize that other Facebook site is a means to push an agenda
Your truly
Puddintane
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