LAWTON - Key factors to help the Lawton-Fort Sill economy were discussed at a recent luncheon hosted by the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce titled: The State of Economic Development with Community.
Guest speaker Ms. Vicki Horton explained that site preparedness and human capital were among the most sought-after features industry leaders look for when searching for new facilities. As managing partner of location strategies in Evergreen Advisors, Horton and her team developed a shortlist of suggestions that are designed to make every city more competitive.
From the hotel/motel clerk to passersby on the roads, “everybody’s part of economic development,” stated Horton. She went on to explain that cities have to start by identifying how many regions they can fit in, “We don’t look at cities; we look at regions. By promoting the region, more industry leaders are attracted to the area.”
She added that the military bases, airports, real estate opportunities as well as skilled and educated workers are key assets to the Lawton-Fort Sill region. Real estate opportunities are the most crucial element to economic development, said Horton. Adding that having the land is not enough; cities need to have the utilities, roadwork and the buildings themselves ready to go. She stressed the need to have more than a vision or an idea.
When leaders ask her to “picture this,” she knows it is time to leave. She can picture it, but her clients are past that point, they want something to ready to go. Her advice is that cities must prepare “virtual buildings” and have the permits preapproved, “if the square footage of a building needs to be made smaller, you can always modify, but that is easy.”
With more than 25 years in site selection, Horton emphasizes the need for negotiating economic development incentives to meet clients’ requirements.
She has experience in working with Fortune 100, Fortune 500 and middle-market companies. Some of her current and past clients include Porsche, ConAgra, Russell Stover and Under Armor.