RACC Off To Strong Start

On April 4, Airport Executive Director Randy Curtis convened an organizational meeting of the newly formed Regional Airport Commerce Council (RACC), a regional organization dedicated to maximizing the economic development potential of the airport.

The event was cosponsored by the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Panama City Beach Tourism Development Council and the Panama City Beach Economic Development Council.

Approximately 130 people from eight Northwest Florida counties attended the day-long meeting, held at the Edgewater Beach Resort in Panama City Beach.

I had the opportunity to be one of the presenters at the meeting. David Anderson, Executive Director of the Florida Audubon Society and Mike Bell, a retired senior Delta Air Lines executive, made presentations as well.

My presentation was about economic development opportunities. David Anderson talked about environmental opportunities. Mike Bell talked about air service opportunities.

The purpose of the meeting was to gauge regional interest and establish working groups to maximize the opportunities that will flow from airport relocation. Here’s my sense of the group’s thinking.

There seemed to be a strong consensus that we needed a regional approach to maximize the benefits the new airport will provide. In particular, there was a consensus that we needed to focus regional efforts in three areas: marketing and branding; economic development; and communications.

There was solid support to form task forces to work in these areas – and there was also a sense of urgency – that we need to get to work immediately.

Randy Curtis is now organizing next steps. I encourage everyone to get involved and volunteer time and expertise in this effort. An investment of your time today will pay enormous dividends to our community in the future.

You can get involved by contacting Randy Curtis or Tom Slocum directly at 763-6751 or you can email me and I’ll put you in touch.