Economic Summit

Economic Summit gathers Business Chambers & Organizations

On November 7th, 2019 the Tuolumne County Economic Development Department held the Tuolumne County Economic Summit to gather the Board Members of County Chambers of Commerce, Business Organizations and County staff to discuss the future of business in Tuolumne County.
The overarching goal of the event was to facilitate coordination among Tuolumne County’s Business Chambers and organizations on creating a unified goal of educating their members on economic development topics pertinent to our county with data and physical information sheets. The Economic Development Department will continually work on facilitating events that can bring together groups in our community to hear economic information that will empower their organization to assist in helping to retain, expand and attract businesses in Tuolumne county.

Summit Details
The event was held at Telei Golf Course Resort and featured three-county businesses, the new Community Development Director and a housing developer from Los Angeles. Galvan Fly Reels of Soulsbyville was invited to discuss how their company manufactures a product in the county and sells nationally, unfortunately, they could not make the event. Echo Adventures, from Groveland, came to discuss their growing adventure tourism business and the growing tourism market opportunity along the Highway 120 corridor. FrontPorch of Sonora discussed the need to focus outreach efforts to appropriately sized tech businesses based on the current workforce in our county and the future of telecommuters. Each business had a unique, positive perspective on the growth of their industry and business in Tuolumne County.
Quincy Yaley, explained the impacts of the budget to the newly created Community Development Department and goals to increase efficiencies of development policies.

The final speaker was a developer from the Mullholland Drive Company, a development firm in Los Angeles, who presented on the California Housing crisis and how it compares to Tuolumne County. Our county has felt the affordable housing squeeze, but to see an individual quantify the problem, and then provide a solution is uplifting. Daniel’s presentation included federally available data and survey results from local employers to provide direct insight into the needs of our community. Daniel has presented across the Central Valley and Central Sierra Nevada region.

Summit Goals & Information Delivered
One final goal of the event was for those in attendance to take an action item back to their chamber or organization members. Each table included an agenda with a recommendation form, informational blog idea signup sheet, a map of Tuolumne County’s Opportunity Investment Zones, a pie chart of land in Tuolumne County and a letter form for attendees to write a letter to the community or their members about a topic they felt compelled to share from the event. Too many events are structured around discussing a topic with no tangible outcome, the information handed out was an attempt to extend the impact of the Summit long term.