Opportunity Cherokee Allows Residents To Weigh In On County's Future

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Do you wish you had a say in what your community looks like? Have you always wanted to work locally but the opportunities in your job field are not available in Cherokee? What businesses do you think would benefit the local economy?

The Cherokee Office of Economic Development has launched Opportunity Cherokee, an community assessment and economic development strategic plan, and the agency wants to hear from you.

Boyette Strategic Advisors, an economic development consulting firm, has been working with COED in developing the initiative, and they will seek input from a broad cross-section of stakeholders.

A number of group discussions have already been held, and online surveys will also be used to gain a better understanding of any potential opportunities.

“COED works diligently towards the community’s economic success,” said COED President Misti Martin. “In order to plan for the future, we must explore potential opportunity as well as identify any issues or challenges facing the county from an economic development standpoint. Opportunity Cherokee allows us the strategize using real data provided by our stakeholders. The information that will come from these assessments is invaluable.”

Opportunity Cherokee, which will be focused on enhancing the county’s competitiveness to attract new jobs and investment, has been developed to position Cherokee to compete for high-value jobs through a competitive assessment that will include identification of the area’s unique assets; benchmarking Cherokee County against similar and/or aspirational communities; validation/identification of targeted business sectors that are a good fit for the county; and development of strategic recommendations to enhance the county’s competitiveness.

This planning process, which was launched in late March, will be completed by the end of August.

COED is asking for your help and participation in the input process, particularly through an online resident survey that will be available starting May 19.

For more information about the Opportunity Cherokee plan and to access the resident survey, please visit the Opportunity Cherokee website and click on Provide Your Input.

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