Wins & losses
GYedc reports highlights in year-end report
Fiscal year 2021/2021 was a year of wins and losses for the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp. Julie Engel, president and CEO, reviewed the highlights in the organization’s year-end report.
The COVID-19 pandemic prevented actual travel, so team members participated in virtual trade missions to Israel, Germany and
Italy with the Transatlantic Business and Investment Council.
Arizona Western College completed its TBIC Apprenticeship Certification during this time as well. Engel noted that AWC was the first U.S. college to obtain this prestigious accreditation.
The GYEDC team spent a week with more than 10 companies in each location. “We were able to showcase our regional assets and establish relationships with companies that are interested in expanding into the U.S. market,” Engel said.
On the local front, the Broadband Action Committee was “very successful” with its efforts and next steps to ensure the entire Yuma County receives the best broadband and internet services possible.
The City of Yuma funded the study and Yuma
County will be funding the infrastructure project.
“This was an 18-month process, but perseverance won the day,” Engel said.
“Sadly,” she added, “we were not successful in our efforts to lobby the state and federal lawmakers to amend the Yuma County Opportunity Zones. We put several man hours into this effort but were not able to succeed.”
However, GYEDC had wins and losses legislatively at the state level. Once again, the organization took the lead in running the rural infrastructure bill, with Rep. Tim Dunn championing the effort.
“Unfortunately, ideologies and not statistics drove the final decision,” Engel