Wood County Industrial Commission
WCIC to participate in U of Texas rural ED study
By JOHN SPARKS

 

Meeting in regular session Thursday, May 1 in Yantis, the board of the Wood County Industrial Commission (WCIC) approved a $1,000 grant to the Association of Rural Communities in Texas (ARCIT) to fund a study of economic development programs. Board members also heard a report concerning record attendance at the second annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

The ARCIT grant will help to fund a $20,000 study of the cost/benefit of economic development programs in rural Texas. The study, to be done by the Center for Economic Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio, will assess effectiveness of numerous programs and efforts and include recommendations for improvements in such efforts.
 

Gary McKinley, executive director of the Wood County Industrial Commission reported that the Toyota Texas Bass Classic at Lake Fork was bigger and better in its second year with attendance at 29,500 for the three-day event. Early input from area hospitality facilities and merchants was that the business pace was above last year. McKinley urged all those with positive experiences with the event to communicate directly with TTBC officials at www.toyotatexasbassclassic.com.
 

Several ideas and concepts to promote tourism have been identified for further development by members of teams of board members. The concepts and their developers are: Big Bass Attraction, Ladd Thompson and Ken Donahue; Driving Tour Guide, Dick Roberts, David Chenault and Stanley Statser; Coordinated Calendar for Wood County Activities, Neal Duncan, and Billboard Advertisements, Glen Davis and Freda Madsen.
 

McKinley reported sales tax applications for new businesses in Wood County during April 2008 totaled 30. Hawkins had two new applications, Holly Lake one. Mineola led with ten new business applications followed by Winnsboro with eight.
 

The next meeting of the Wood County Industrial Commission is scheduled for Thursday, June 5, 2008.