Scenes from An Interview

Making Sarasota an Amazon for Business:

Mark Huey, President & CEO  of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County

By Gus Mollasis

Sarasota County is known for its world-famous beaches and world class arts. It is a haven for tourists of all ages who come from many places, yearning for blue skies, warm weather, beautiful water and their slice of our paradise.

If that’s not enough, many national magazines and media outlets consistently rank Sarasota as a “top place to retire” or “one of the best places to live in the United States.”

Spring breakers find Sarasota’s beaches irresistible – so much so that MTV launched a successful TV show called Siesta Key, which is aimed at a viewing public who are not exactly eligible for an AARP discount.

Sarasota is a diverse place. There are our snowbirds—folks who come here only during our “season”—usually late October through April. Then there’s the rest of us birds who call Sarasota home all year long. And as with every strong community, it is a place with a solid businesses scene that continues to grow.

It is that continued business growth that is the hope and charge of the man who heads up the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, President and CEO Mark Huey.

As I entered the EDC building, the former hip home of the HuB, I picked up and leafed through an EDC pamphlet with testimonials and goals jumping off the page – “Locate Your Business Where You Want to LIVE!”  “I came to Sarasota County on vacation and didn’t want to leave so I moved my business here.”

Other literature highlighted businesses from A to Z who’ve made this area home. You’ll see names like Boars Head Provisions; FCCI Insurance Group; Hoveround Corporation; Ned Davis Research, Roper Industries; Sun Hydraulics Corporation; Tervis; United Natural Foods; Voalte; and Capgemini, just to name a few.

It piqued my interest. I couldn’t wait to learn about what the EDC does. When did it start? What is it today and what are the plans for tomorrow?

“We’ve been around in some form for generations,” said Mark Huey. “The current version of the EDC was put together in 2004, but essentially what we are is a big tent of civic leaders and business leaders, who get together and look at the trajectory of the economy and how it’s treating the community.”

“Everybody’s looking at how the forces of the economy are affecting our city, our county and community, and do we like it? And if not, do we want to get together and try to do something different?”

That something different rests in changing perceptions.

While it’s true we’re known for tourism and retirement, and agriculture is also an important piece of the economy (but not as big a part), the EDC’s leadership is exploring if we can be even more than that.

“We’re that small group of folks who are swimming against the stream with regard to how the outside market views Sarasota. We’re a no brainer for tourism and as a place to retire. But for tech and manufacturing? People say, ‘Sarasota? What?’”

Yes, tourism and retirement investments are flowing. Huey says that’s a given. So, just what does excite the head of Sarasota County’s EDC?

“Anything that’s not related to tourism, retirement and construction,” he says. “The fact that we’re not viewed as a place where tech and manufacturing happens. I get excited about that.”

He’s excited about that because for Huey and the rest of the EDC staff, it’s an opportunity they are very passionate about—diversifying our economy.

“We embrace our historic strengths. We’re not turning our back on tourism and retirement. We’re all for that. We’re the ones who wake up every morning thinking what we can do to bring tech, manufacturing, insurance and risk management companies as well as shared services companies here. Companies that get most of their revenue from outside the market. We’re focused on how we can get more of these types of companies here and how they can thrive here.”

The EDC of Sarasota County’s roots, while it goes back generations, is not very old at all. It was historically associated with the Chamber of Commerce. Just prior to Huey coming on board, the leadership broke the EDC away from the Chamber. 

To Huey, that made perfect sense because the EDC’s goal is primarily to serve businesses who mostly get their source of revenue from outside the market – companies such as Tervis and Tropicana. He believes that if the EDC can do a good job and grow our economy with more of these types of businesses, it will benefit the local market because there will be more people earning salaries.

According to Huey, “Chambers of Commerce are more focused on local markets-serving companies —small businesses, Main Street businesses. That is definitely the primary market they’re serving. Business climate and regulations affect both of our worlds, so we collaborate when there is overlap. Basically, we rarely get into local markets serving and chambers rarely play in our space.”

Huey shared some EDC history with me. The EDC function (it was not called the EDC at that time) at our Chamber of Commerce started with one employee then grew to two employees. These people did economic development work that was largely reactive to opportunities because they didn’t have the resources to go beyond being reactive.

“Over time people said it got better and better, and while there were efforts to put more money into development along the way, in 2004 there was a bigger effort to put even more private and public dollars into economic development. When we got this increased funding, there was a real sense of now we really have to do more.”

Huey says more resources, incentives and public tools were made available so there was the idea they should create a single purpose organization. This was a big pivot for the EDC.

So, what are some of the EDC efforts to diversify our economy and lure huge companies with global reach? Do I hear Amazon?

Of course, it’s the biggest fish in the global business market, and one, if landed, is a game changer for any community seeking good clean green jobs and an insurgence of green in the bank accounts of the masses.

“We made a pitch,” Huey says. The size of Amazon is unprecedented. They were contemplating 50,000 jobs, which is about the size of the city of Sarasota. In my career there has never been a project of that size.”

“Amazon made it known that they were looking, which is quite different. With virtually every other project we work on, the businesses keep their information more secretive and they don’t want everyone to call them with hundreds of proposals.”

“We knew we were a long shot. When we looked at their criteria, there were a number of things that made us an underdog including being too small a community, but when I talked to some people who knew Amazon fairly well at the senior level to get a sense for their culture and what they value, I sensed that there was a lot there and that we shared some common ground.

“Essentially our pitch was that we are a community maybe a little bit like them, in that nobody really believed Amazon could be who they now are. As a community, we have big ambitions. We know that as a company Amazon was built on talent and that we are a community that has the quality of life and the amenities to attract the kind of talent they need. And while you can’t look at our talent and labor force now and see the 50,000 people you need, between the development possibilities that exist here and our quality of life, Sarasota is it! Everyone wants to come and live here. Give us a chance. Let us prove that to you.”

And while the EDC of Sarasota County didn’t land the big Amazon fish, it still has its lures in the water, fishing for those companies that make sense. All kinds of businesses – green, tech, manufacturing. Businesses developed by the next Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos.

Huey points out that Sarasota County is not a place where you bring smokestacks. Those types of companies don’t even look to come here. So, I was curious. What type of companies do come here? Can the film industry be that next big thing that brings economic growth to the region?

Huey tells me, “Most of the work that we do is industry agnostic—meaning that we are interested in any businesses that can diversify our economy. But as far as film goes, it’s an area where we have a vertical—a space in which we are investing money because we think we have strengths and are positioned to be more competitive than the average market. We’re willing to invest and pursue these opportunities. Director Jeanne Corcoran of the Sarasota Film and Entertainment Office is the tip of the spear on our film efforts here.” 

Heuy is pleased with what they’ve done to promote our film industry saying Ringling College’s newly built studio labs (the first academic and commercial soundstage and post-production facility of its kind in the state of Florida) are being supported by the EDC with public funds and widely promoted by Jeanne Corcoran.

“What we are hearing is that all the major production facilities in Georgia are booked through 2021 with content producers. So it’s our hope that if that plays out, some of that film business will end up at Ringling College’s Studio Labs.”

Huey thinks of this as a hallmark of the EDC. “We don’t fold up our tent when, for example, the state says there are no tax incentives. We do have a local incentive program that pivoted immediately to smaller scale productions. Jeanne has done a great job in that space.”

“For us, it’s always figuring out, at any given time or place, where can we compete and get some wins. And every once in a while, you get an MTV – which is now producing the third season of Siesta Key. They‘re going to spend a lot of money here.”

Wins today translate into jobs, filled hotel rooms and crowded restaurants. What do future wins look like for Sarasota? What business sector does the EDC hope will depict Sarasota in the future?

“Our passion is for people to see us outside of tourism and retirement. Our dream is that we live for the day when Sarasota is mentioned in Chicago, and people say, ‘Oh that’s a tech hub, isn’t it?’”