Day 92: Exisiting Business Continued

Day 92:  Existing Business Continued:  Obviously writing several posts about existing business should display how important this topic is.  Until I became a consultant I spent most of my career helping existing business.  When I was with the utility it was for self-interest that we helped our customers.  We had a very large consumer of natural gas in a small rural town.  They were near a major river.  One year it flooded badly and the whole facility was under water.  The company was owned by an Australian firm.  The owners overseas wondered why this facility was located in a flood plain.  The problem was that the Army Corp of Engineers had never wired the pumps that were installed to keep the water away from this small community.  Not only was the facility flooded but the whole community was flooded. So, I spent many hours attending meetings, contacting congressmen and legislators to get this community assistance.  The company sorely needed to expand.  Corporate felt maybe it should happen in another state.  Through the hard work of myself and others (the community or county did not have any economic development organizations)  we were able to get federal funds to pay for very high berms to hold the water back.  The pumps that had been installed were actually hooked up to electricity and the community businesses received grants to assist in getting back into business.  It was a very rewarding project.  The company is still in the community and everyone has been dry for a good long time.  Next:  Existing Business continued.

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