Maxing out the economy Max Khudiakov earns prestigious economic award
MAX KHUDIAKOV HAS BEEN hard at work developing Red River's economy through projects that range anywhere from boosting workforce housing to securing funds for Red River Brewing to open a second production facility to supporting the local mom-and-pop shops of the area.
For all of his efforts as the Town of Red River's Economic Development Director, Khudiakov has been granted the Diane Lupke Scholarship by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The scholarship is aimed at assisting economic development experts in enhancing their knowledge and abilities to benefit their underserved communities. The distinction will be helpful towards expanding Khudiakov's network.
“There's some really useful connections with people like me in a similar position in different towns. There's also really good connections with consultants, writers [and] site selectors,” said Khudiakov.In addition to a boost in network, the scholarship reaffirms his economic inclinations.
"This scholarship affirms my commitment to improving economic development strategies for the benefit of the community, and to achieve this, I am eagerly working towards becoming a certified economic developer."
His achievements have garnered praise from the town's mayor.
"We are immensely proud of Max's accomplishments and his drive to continuously improve as an economic development professional," said Linda Calhoun.
One of Max's primary focuses as the economic director is that of small
business. “That's what I'm trying to concentrate on,” said Khudiakov, “it's the small businesses, they are the catalyst of local economic development in rural areas ... my own philosophy of what economic development is — because you know, everybody learns differently — the way I see it, it's more like an investment in growing the town's economy and enhancing the prosperity and quality of life for all of the residents.”