Patricia Rengifo
Hamburg Reporter

As a way of further educating themselves and the community about how different counties operate economic development offices, Fremont Economic Development Corporation (FREDCO) officials invited several economic directors to speak at their monthly meeting.

Gary Tucker, economic development director of Plymouth County; Jason White, executive director of the Midwest Partnership Group Corporation (Adair, Greene, Guthrie counties); and Pat Haverty, executive director of River Country Economic Development Corporation (Otoe County, Neb.) were on hand to describe their job duties, explain how their offices are funded and field questions from the audience.

All three men spoke about how important it is to think regionally when working on economic development.

FREDCO board member Lynda Cruickshank said one of the key points she took away from the presentation was to erase the lines on a map, as Tucker suggested.

“Society has changed; we’re not all confined in our own little communities,” she said. “Many people live in Fremont County and work in Nebraska City or vice versa.”

She said when it is time to move forward with hiring a director, FREDCO plans on contacting Haverty to help with the interview process.

She said at one point it was the group’s goal to have an economic director hired by June.

“I thought (the meeting) was excellent help for us as we try to decide what we want to do,” Cruickshank said.

She said the group will further discuss the topic during its May meeting and is planning to go before the Board of Supervisors to request $10,000 to put towards this endeavor.

“If we’re not willing to invest in this county, we can’t expect others to take that risk,” she said.

All three county supervisors were in attendance as well as several candidates seeking a seat on the board.

“I think it was very refreshing to see them there,” Cruickshank said. “It shows they are interested in the economic development of this county.”

During the meeting, FREDCO President Kim Gee announced that they have received “membership” payments from the towns of Riverton, Sidney and Tabor and they have received memberships from several other businesses in the community.

FREDCO has an evening meeting every other month at various locations around the county.