A Breakfast with Benefits

Flush with $93 million added to the Grand List, including a renovated , businesses had plenty to celebrate at this year's Business Appreciation breakfast.

The Trumbull Economic Development Commission organized the fifth annual event at the  hotel, attracting 120 businesspeople, said Deborah Cox, the town's Economic Development director.

EDC Chairman Jim Abraham welcomed guests. “This morning gives us an opportunity to formally thank our local business partners for locating in Trumbull and helping us encourage others to do the same," he said. 

Abraham reminisced about the evolution of the Economic Development Commission.

He said the EDC has turned from "a group of volunteers striving to make Trumbull a business-friendly community" to a far more proactive organization, according to a press release.

Some ways are: developing and implementing a strategic and marketing plan, publishing periodic communications and building relationships and partnerships with town, regional and state agencies and organizations.

“But the most significant action that we took with the support of both our former First Selectman Ray Baldwin and our present First Selectman Tim Herbst, was the hiring of our first professional director, Deborah Evans Cox.  She has been the face of EDC as well as its heart,” he said. 

First Selectman Timothy Herbst also thanked Trumbull’s business community for its valued partnership.

He thanked all Town Boards and town staff for working "tirelessly" to ensure that Trumbull is a high-caliber, safe, and financially sound community that attracts and supports businesses.

Herbst reiterated many points of his State of the Town Address, regarding the town’s strong economic development strategy and town efforts that contributed to the Grand List increase last year.

He thanked Westfield for its investment in Trumbull and applauded their generosity as a community partner.

He also highlighted other developments expected in 2011, including a 76,000- square foot medical building on Quarry Road, additional remodeling in the Trumbull Center shopping plaza, Bridgeport Hospital’s new cancer treatment center on Park Avenue, and some new developments at Long Hill Green and on Route 111.

Cox elaborated on Trumbull’s business evolution. She said Trumbull’s doors are not just “Open for Business" (its current slogan), but its many businesses "continuously discover and realize that the town of Trumbull is really working for them."

Along with a comprehensive list of business-friendly assets, Cox stressed that Trumbull’s government, employees, commissions, and community groups work collaboratively to help businesses thrive.

“Don’t just take our word for it,” Cox said, “listen to what some of our largest businesses say about us.”

She then showed a 5 1/2-minute video that featuring executives from UnitedHealthcare, , Sun Products, Sikorsky’s Helicopter Support, Westfield, , CooperSurgical and Bridgeport Hospital, explaining what the words, “Trumbull CT, working for you” means to their company.

“They weren’t scripted, we just asked them what those words meant to them and their business," Cox said.

Keynote speaker Nick Perna, Economic Advisor to Webster Bank, outlined the need for efficiency in government and also talked about regionalization and consolidation of services as a potential way of reducing costs.

He said substantial improvement to the state’s economy can only be realized through both tax increases and spending cuts, but did not give what a balance should between the two.

The economy is recovering, but it suffered a big setback because of the recession, he said. In some areas, the state is back to where it was 15 years ago. 

"The Dow is almost back to where it was before the recession started," Perna said. "What we've got is an uneven recovery. The important thing is there is some forward momentum."

If congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling, he added, "then the recovery could come to a halt."

"I still worry about the resolution in Greece and Portugal," which are financially hurting.

Overall, however, the state is performing the same or better than national levels, and inflation is still where at the same level as 25-30 years ago, according to Perna.

Cox closed the meeting with a sales pitch: “Please remember to Shop Trumbull – it matters."