Coming out of the great recession, it was clear that Redmond’s business organizations were not meeting the needs of its members or supporting the health of the local and regional economy. Like all businesses at the time, the Chamber of Commerce, Realize Redmond and the Redmond Economic Development Alliance were all struggling to find a direction and financial footing.
In response to the very real challenges they faced, the three organizations with the partnership of the City of Redmond merged, incorporated and funded a new public/private partnership to lead business growth in the region. OneRedmond was charged to do four simple things: 1) support our existing businesses, large and small, and their growth; 2) recruit new businesses to the community to diversify the economic base; 3) promote arts and events to enhance the vibrancy of our downtowns; and 4) work with the city to ensure that we are the most competitive area for business investment.
Despite being fully operational for only two years, we are delivering on our promises. We have supported expansion of our existing businesses and supported the location of new business such as Super Jock ‘N Jill, Sonata Software and Seattle Aero. The OneRedmond Foundation has helped fund new events including SoBazaar and the recent Saturday Market Veterans Day Celebration. Redmond is home to some of the most talented and creative people in the country many of whom design and develop new video games. To assist them OneRedmond, with the generous financial support of JPMorgan Chase Foundation, has a major effort focused on growing our Indie video game sector.
As with any smart enterprise, our business plan is adapting to the needs of the community. While we have always provided small businesses the opportunity for participation, we are proactively engaging the community and have increased the number of small business members by 36 percent over the last four months. Second, we heard loudly that small businesses lamented the loss of their networking opportunities. We responded with our quarterly Community Connections event in partnership with Redmond Marriott Town Center. This well-attended event highlights small business and provides a great opportunity to meet other small business owners and leaders. Finally, in partnership with the Small Business Administration and Washington State University, we funded the opening of the Small Business Development Center to provide free confidential one-on-one counseling to firms looking to expand or improve their operations. This center, staffed by a well-qualified counselor, provides services to small to medium sized business in various sectors.
Our evolution as the business and economic development leader on the Eastside is not done. Next year will see a broader number of business training and network events and a concerted effort to grow the organization. Our business community and region require a strong and concerted community and economic development effort if we are to remain the competitive and livable city we enjoy. If you or your business are interested in more information about participating or supporting the economic development of your community please contact us at info@oneredmond.org or contact Heidi Archer, director of investor relations, at (425) 885-4014.
Dr. Eric Scroggins is OneRedmond’s board president.
