FROM THE PRESIDENT    

Congratulations to Karen Glover! After purchasing the Sears store in Fairhope, Karen has left the Alliance to manage her new business. Karen was a key employee at the Alliance for almost 10 years and we will miss her greatly.

The Alliance is extremely fortunate in that we have been able to hire Amanda Selph as Karen’s replacement. Amanda has great experience in the economic development field and is a lifelong resident of Baldwin County.

The year 2010 is still very young but we have already had exciting job creation news. The City of Gulf Shores and Saunders Yachtworks jointly announced a new $6 million boat repair facility which will be capable of working on large private and small military boats. Ultimately, twenty or more high skill jobs will be created and the facility will help introduce new clients to Baldwin County. We have current prospects looking in North Baldwin, on the Eastern Shore, in Central Baldwin, South Baldwin and on the Alabama Gulf Coast. These include industrial projects, computer/high tech, aviation, alternative energy, back office operations and distribution. In addition, we continue to work on a daily basis with HK Motors and potential partners and are encouraged by the actions the company is taking to make that project a reality.

That you for what you do to make Baldwin County successful!

THE ALLIANCE WELCOMES AMANDA SELPH 

The Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance is proud to announce their newest team member, Amanda McKinley Selph. Amanda is the new Operations Manager at our office in Robertsdale following the departure of Karen Glover. Ms. Selph is a Baldwin County native and has worked with the Alliance in the past through her positions at the North and Central Baldwin Chambers of Commerce.  She holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Management from Huntingdon College where she graduated with Honors and she is also a proud graduate of Baldwin County High School.

“I am proud to become a member of the BCEDA team. I am even more proud to call Baldwin County my home and be a part of something that will take it from great to even greater”, Selph says. “I was born and raised in Bay Minette and I have a deep desire to see our county thrive to remain a place that I love to live, work, and raise my family.”

Amanda replaces Karen Glover who has gone on to begin a business venture in her hometown of Fairhope. “Ten years is a healthy commitment”, states Robert Ingram, CEO. “Karen will be missed and we wish her the best.”

The Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance strives to support existing business expansion and workforce development, support start up businesses, shape the region’s growth, support community development, and expand Baldwin County’s economy through business development. For more information about the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance, please visit our website at www.baldwineda.com or contact us at 251/947-2445.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: INVESTORS' RECEPTION
 

The Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance Investors’ Reception

will be Thursday, April 22, 2010 from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm at

Stewart Lodge

Steelwood
17230 Dogwood Grove
Loxley, Alabama 36551

BALDWIN COUNTY HEALTH RATINGS

    
    According to a recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Baldwin county is the third healthiest county in the State of Alabama, Shelby and Lee counties ranked #1 and #2, respectively.

   The entire study can be found online at www.countyhealthratings.org.

ENVISION REVISES ROAD MAP FOR THE FUTURE

Submitted by Shayla Jones Beaco

     On Envision’s 13^th anniversary, volunteers, strategy partners and community stakeholders are updating the focus for the organization’s future. In January, 75 area leaders led by Envision co-chairs Donna Watts and Mike Hofto met in Baldwin County to devise attainable short-term goals. It is only the third large-scale planning meeting for Envision since the organization rebranded to encompass both sides of Mobile Bay in 2001.

            According to Envision director Shayla Jones-Beaco, a changing economic and environmental landscape created the need for new strategy. She said the regional planning session emphasized developing an action-oriented community and economic framework for Envision’s four E-teams - economy, education, environment and equity.

            Ramona Hill, certified trainer and facilitator with Workshops, Etc! facilitating

the half-day workshop, challenged the teams to look no further than three to five years in the future. It was an opportunity for team co-leaders and volunteers to hammer out their most pressing needs and share them with the group as a whole.

Participants included representatives from corporations, non-profits, area government and grass-roots organizations. Sheila Dean-Rosenbohm, vice president, planning and administration for International Shipholding offered her ideas to the education team. “While in my corporate role, I was torn between the economy and education teams, I feel we really need that education to provide employees capable of working for area companies,” Dean-Rosenbohm said.

            Mobile Habitat for Humanity development director and equity team member Dave Betler said he was encouraged by the workshop’s potential to point all the teams in a similar direction, “This meeting demonstrated value by the breadth of organizations represented that truly have the greater good in mind and who take the time to talk about how we can cooperate for a better quality of life for the region.”

            The teams succeeded in identifying a concise vision for the immediate future. But meeting organizers and participants agreed, without action, their efforts would be for naught. “By bringing a number of voices together, we hope the outcome is commitment,” Hill said. “This is not magic that will happen overnight, it requires staying power.”

BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: STAN SZAPIEL

For 24 years Stan Szapiel has worked in the hospitality and resort business managing hotels, condominiums and resort developments.  He currently serves as the General Manager for Caribe Realty Inc. and oversees the daily operations of Caribe Resort and Turquoise Place in Orange Beach, Alabama.  Stan came to the Gulf Coast 10 years ago to manage The Beach Club in Gulf Shores.  Prior to this he served as the Director of Operations for Phoenix Hospitality located in Boerne, Texas and managed several hotels and a ranch resort in the Texas Hill Country.   

Stan earned an Associate of Arts degree for Prince Georges College in Maryland where he grew up.  He attended University of Maryland and then Graduated from the University of Texas, San Antonio with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. 

Stan has been a board member of the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce and a board member of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.  He currently serves as the Vice President of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance and the Vice President of the Gulf Shores High School Dolphin Athletic Club.  Over the past 10 years he has also been involved in coaching youth sports for his children. 

He has been married to Morgen for 21 years and they have two boys, Alec, 16 and Sam 12 who both attend Gulf Shores Schools.  In his spare time he enjoys watching his children’s sports games and working on their house.  He and his family enjoy vacationing in the mountains and living at the beach. 

2010 BOARD MEMBERS