Chippewa County EDC has a new leader

Managing an international airport seems like a daunting task in and of itself.  Add to that acting as landlord and economic developer for one of the largest counties in Michigan and you can easily see why you need a good person to chart the course.

The Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation has found a good leader in Tom Ewing, a community-minded, personable man with a made-for-radio voice. Ewing's deep, clear voice with a hint of crackle served him well for over 46 years in radio, most recently as VP/General Manager of Sovereign Communications, LLC.

As the new president of the EDC he can now send a clear message that will hopefully spur economic development in a region that could use a little boost.

Ewing, who became president March 31 of 2014, says the staff he needs to get the job done--from keeping a large runway plowed, to collecting rental fees and spurring economic growth--was already in place when he took the helm.

"I'd say our staff is an integrated staff," says Ewing. "We meet just about every day to pick each other's brain, we work as a team. I'm very pleased with the staff out here."

Ewing says about a third of his time is spent helping airport manager Tami Beseau with the various tasks involved in managing what he says is a pretty busy airport for its size. In fact, Ewing took the helm just in time to oversee a $3.6 million resurfacing of the airport runway.

The Chippewa County EDC is located at what is still referred to by the locals as the old Kincheloe Air Force Base, despite the base having closed over three decades ago. Besides a well maintained airport that can handle commercial airliners, the EDC owns the industrial park, which consists of three manufacturing companies: Superior Fabrication, with 130 employees, Kinross Fabrication with about 30 workers, and EUP Shavings, a newer firm that takes the shavings from logs and bags them up for horse bedding. They're also landlords to some public agencies in Kinross, including Kinross EMS, the 911 emergency call enter, and the volunteer fire department.

After the air force base closed, much of the focus for economic development was in adding industry to the newly formed industrial park at Kincheloe. Some businesses did move in, and the Department of Corrections built three prisons and converted an old Air Force barracks into prison cells.

However, today, Ewing says the focus for economic development extends beyond Kincheloe as the EDC embarks on a collaborative approach to economic development as outlined by Governor Snyder.

"My overall job, my job title is to help the economy grow in the county," says Ewing. "The buzz word is collaboration." To that end, he works with other economic development entities including EUP Regional Planning and the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation.

The governor's approach to economic development encourages sharing of ideas with each other in the region, which, Ewing points out, is rather vast. He says much-anticipated high speed video teleconferencing technology should be in place within the next year that will allow him and others to attend meetings with others in the U.P. and beyond, without incurring the costs and inconvenience of traveling the great expanses that separate us folks in the U.P.
                    
Some of the ideas that will be shared, according to Ewing, whether by video conferencing or face-to-face meetings, include how to make our communities more attractive to tourists. Ewing says many people in the economic development community believe that among the tourists enticed to the region will be would-be entrepreneurs who may want to return and set up shop here.
 
"One philosophy I kind of share is that the first step to attracting a business to locate in the Eastern Upper Peninsula is to first of all get them to the EUP." He says if these people enjoy what we have to offer in the EUP and are interested in starting a business, they may take that quantum leap and relocate to the area.
                    
One sector Ewing sees growing in the region besides tourism is agriculture. He also sees enrollment at Lake Superior State University as a driving force in the local economy, providing a spinoff effect for economic development.
 
He says traditionally EDCs were primarily focused on industrial development. He sees their role these days as expanding to include anything that spurs growth and investment in the community.  He says one way to do that is to tout what we have to offer up here, which is a beautiful place to raise a family, to work and to play.
                    
The Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation is funded in part by rental revenues, automobile testing fees, by Delta Airlines, for use of the airport; by selling fuel to Delta and general aviation planes, and a small fee collected from airline passengers.
 
So what's on the horizon for the Chippewa County EDC? Ewing says, besides a new business which may be locating in a vacated suite of offices in Kincheloe, next up is revamping the EDC's website to make it a starting point for people who may be considering locating a business in the county. There they'll find what is available in the county for a business start-up and links to other resources, including other economic development agencies.

Neil Moran is a freelance writer in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and owner of Haylake Business Communications. You can find him on Twitter at @moranwrite.