Grand Junction

GJEP is supported in part by investment from the local business community and in an effort to show our appreciation for these investments; GJEP proudly supports local business as well.  This support comes in the form of referrals, Investor Profiles on GJEP’s website (www.gjep.org), and appearances at investors’ functions.

A few weeks ago I attended the grand re-opening at the Bank of Colorado.  The Bank of Colorado has been one of GJEP’s long-standing supporters, and one of our Chairman’s Council investors.  Bank of Colorado President, Chris Launer, has participated on the GJEP Board of Directors and served as our Secretary/Treasurer as well as Chair of the Board.  The level of commitment and support is truly appreciated.

The Bank of Colorado recently remodeled their entire facility and I stopped by to check out the new digs.  Let me tell you, they look GOOD!  Sun King Management (another GJEP investor) did a great job and the new look is very hip, modern, and classy.  I was impressed by how many Grand Valley folks braved the wet weather and attended the event, and especially proud of the many GJEP investors who were represented.  

Some photos from the event:

The availability of natural resources in energy-rich Western Colorado has and will continue to play a significant role in our regional economy in many ways: creating jobs, growing business, and providing revenues to State and local governments. To learn more about the direction of the industry and what role Western Colorado will play in the nation’s growing energy demands, as well as how GJEP might capitalize on opportunities, I attended the Rocky Mountain Energy Epicenter Conference in Denver earlier this month.

A number of thought-provoking speeches from a diverse group such as the Colorado gubneratorial candidates: Hickenlooper, Maes and McInnis, Senators Orrin Hatch and Timothy Wirth, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provided for lively discussion. While coming from many different viewpoints, all agreed that natural gas will play an important role in meeting the nation’s future energy demands, “a lynchpin for a new energy economy” as described by Senator Wirth and “a game-changer with regards to energy security, climate change and jobs” according to Greg Staple of the American Clean Skies Foundation.

Videos of the keynote speeches on the conference are available at http://www.energyepicenter.org/ and well worth a watch.

What a difference a few months can make.  While the recession is not entirely behind us, indications of better times are becoming more commonplace.  The Grand Junction area is seeing several ground breakings, significant construction projects and grand openings. 

I thought it would be fun to chronicle some of the larger construction projects around town.

As locals know, the first phase of the Downtown Uplift is complete and I for one, think it has turned out beautifully!

Downtown Uplift Phase 1

The 24 Road City Market project is cruising right along and I am super excited for the rumored fancy cheese counter!

If you head west out of town you can see two large projects:

Grand Valley Power

Ute Water Conservancy District

There are several other large scale construction projects taking place throughout the community including the $11 million National Guard Readiness Center and the $19.3 million 29 Road project.  And as always, there are plenty of road and bridge projects as well.  Although negotiating the “orange cone zone” can be maddening, this activity is good for our community.  I promise myself I will try harder to remember that this construction season.

I was given the opportunity to attend the American Wind Energy Association trade show in Dallas, TX last week.  Wind Power is the largest wind energy conference in the world; show organizers report that over 20,000 people from all over the world attended the show and new technologies were exhibited by over 1,400 companies. 

I attended along with a great group of economic development professionals from all over Colorado.  It was great to be part of such a strong team and to have the entire state of Colorado represented.  The Colorado booth was by far (ok, I am biased) the best economic development booth at the show.  It was not only the unique, high quality of the booth, or the stellar team that made for our success; it was the beanies – the “best giveaway of the show.”  (More to come (later) on the beanies as they truly deserve their own moment.) 

The show was a whirl wind of activity and I am confident there are companies that will be making Colorado home as a result of these activities.  We, the aforementioned group of economic developers, hosted several site selectors for a wonderful lunch that provided an opportunity to learn about our state and the many different and distinct communities, as well as providing a chance to hear Governor Ritter to talk about the work that his administration has done with renewable energy.  Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard was recently increased to 30% by 2020 – which is attractive when trying to recruit renewable energy businesses to our state. 

After lunch we returned to our booth to host our first ever #tweetchat.  This event was exciting and well promoted by Metro Denver EDC – participants in the chat were eligible to win iPads.  Even though I didn’t win, that chat and the two that followed were incredibly successful.  The  first #tweetchat was moderated by Governor Ritter – who actually tweeted from the Colorado booth – and provided people from all over the world the chance to participate in a discussion about renewable energy in Colorado and around the country.  Great discussion took place and we had the opportunity to direct people to various resources throughout the state.

Later that evening the Colorado contingent hosted a reception for existing Colorado companies as well as several key prospects.  The party was wonderful and another great success.   Over 100 people were in attendance networking with our group and with one another.  I personally received several of the most wonderful compliments I have ever had…it only took a few minutes for me to realize that I was being buttered up to give away a beanie.  I tell you, the things people will do or say for a silly cap.

Those of you familiar with the Grand Valley may be questioning why I attended this particular show given that the Valley isn’t particularly windy (ironically, it was crazy windy in Grand Junction while I was in Dallas).  GJEP believes that while our community may not be the ideal location for wind power generation, our workforce is absolutely ideal for the manufacturing of wind turbines and the many associated supplies that are required for wind power.  I would be remiss to mention that Grand Junction is already home to one wind turbine manufacturer, Leitwind, who had a presence at the show as well. 

I was pleased to find out how many other businesses have heard of Grand Junction and wanted to talk more about the various resources we have available.  It was a great opportunity to showcase our area all the while working to further Colorado’s New Energy Economy. 

As I boarded the plane to return home I spent time reflecting on the whirlwind of activity over the past couple of days.  Contact was made with numerous solid prospects, relationships with existing companies were strengthened and a new website was launched (www.cleantechhub.org). 

I am proud to be part of such a strong, fun and professional group of people.  The collaborative nature we have really puts Colorado on a whole different level.  I couldn’t help but think, if we work this well together for a trade show, imagine what we could do for an existing, relocating or expanding business.

For more information about the show, please visit: http://2010.windpowerexpo.org/

I attended the Mesa County Manufacturers Council’s monthly meeting this morning and maybe I’m still on a high from yesterday’s opening of Cabela’s first Colorado store right here in Grand Junction, but the faces and voices around the table seemed to be significantly more positive than in recent memory. In response to the usual question, “So, how are things going?” I heard “significantly picking up,” followed by lots of nods around the table.  I also heard “quoting up the whazoo” and even “unbelievably busy right now.”  Observations of the group and its hour long dialogue lead me to believe that the Gross National Happiness of the Mesa County Manufacturers Council is definitely up. This is just one of many positive local economic indicators we are currently seeing including:

• The unemployment rate for April 2010 has fallen a full percentage point in one month time
• The first quarter of 2010 saw foreclosure filings decrease for the first time in three years
• The number of applicants to job order ratio has decreased from a high of 104:1 in December, 2009 to 64:1 as of today.  In the transportation sector alone the change was quite dramatic.  In December, 2009 the ratio was 217:1 and now it is 46:1.
• In March 2010 Grand Junction’s rental vacancy rate fell for the first time in a year and a half
• Grand Junction Regional Airport reported the second highest ever number of April enplanements in 2010

Many local businesses are now reporting an increase in sales and with it a need to hire additional staff. Others are making significant investments in our region which demonstrates a bright future for our community.

Sure, some may accuse me of being an optimist, but I am absolutely confident that our local economy has turned the corner and we are on the road to recovery. There is no doubt this journey will be long and bumpy and some industry sectors will need 4 wheel drive and there will be bad news; but overall I would say that the wheels are on and we are finally rolling in the right direction.

Thanks to the invitation from Mesa County Commissioner, Steve Aquafresca, a group of GJEP staff and board members had the opportunity to watch a live cattle auction this afternoon.  I would be remiss to mention that we were also able to enjoy a delicious lunch at the on-site Strayhorn Grill (a place I will now be highly recommending to everyone I know).

It was a real treat to meet and talk with owner, Jim Brach and learn more about the agriculture industry that takes place in our neck of the woods.  Going on its third year the Livestock Auction provides local ranchers with an opportunity to buy and sell their cattle much closer to home than ever before.  In fact, hundreds of cattle from all over the region are bought and sold on a weekly basis.  It was incredibly fun to watch and I was amazed at the pace that individual cows and calves as well as pairs and dozens of cattle were being sold.  Last year the sales totaled over $37 million.  Individuals, ranchers, newspaper publishers or internet patrons can all be found bidding.  I was surprised to learn that every auction streams live online at the Cattlemen’s website.

Cattle aren’t the only thing being sold at the auction house.  Goats, sheep and horses all have their place as well.  In fact, on Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 10:30 a live horse auction with some amazingly beautiful horses will occur.  This auction is sure to be really special.  Trent Stewart, a World Champion Auctioneering will be calling the show.

What a treat it was to see how alive and well the agricultural industry is in Mesa County, Colorado.  There can be no denying the economic impact agriculture has on our community.  I personally witnessed some very large transactions occur in a matter of seconds.  I know that I will be returning very soon to the Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction to watch the action and of course to devour the prime rib.

In the last week the switch was turned on at Xcel Energy’s Colorado Integrated Solar Project (CISP). Located at the existing Cameo Generating Station, a few miles east of the Town of Palisade on I-70, the project is the first actual demonstration of parabolic-trough-concentrating solar technology in the world. In conjunction with the existing coal fired plant at Cameo, the project will test hybrid solar-coal plant power generation, its commercial viability and the potential of using solar power to reduce the overall consumption of coal, reduce emissions and increase the opportunity for cost-effective renewable power generation in Colorado.

I had the good fortune to tour this exciting project just a couple of days after it began operating and in advance of the official ribbon-cutting ceremony.  From the top of the old generation coal fired steam cycle plant the parabolic trough solar collectors are lined up waiting to track the sun.

Visiting early in the morning the system was not up and running for the day so it was safe to walk around.

I was able to get a real close up view of the troughs. As slim as this makes me look it might be worth considering installing one of these in my house. But then again, at $5 million total project cost, perhaps not…

While inside the control panel it showed “System in Service” and both the solar and coal hybrid power were generation up and running.

For more information on this cutting edge project visit Xcel Energy’s website or click here.

In my last entry, I detailed some of the frustration and fun of collecting data for the ACCRA Cost of Living Index.  After completing my second day of data collection, I thought I would provide an update with how this round of price collecting went.  Some observations:

• After the grocery store experience, I wore incredibly comfortable and FLAT sandals.  Much better.
• People don’t look at you nearly as strangely when you walk into the mall with nothing but a notebook and pen and don’t buy anything.  In fact, half of the people in the mall were students, who rarely have money to spend anyway…so I sort of blended.
• As hungry as I was after looking at T-Bone steaks for three hours, after walking through department stores for several hours, I was desperate for an entire new wardrobe.
• Finding a pair of “women’s wrinkle-free, 95% cotton, but may contain up to 5% Lycra, Flat Front Khakis, Size 4-14” is not as easy as it sounds.
• Locating the above-mentioned women’s pants requires looking through EVERY single rack in JC Penney, Herberger’s, Target, and Sears women’s departments.
• Apparently in an effort to boost sales, EVERY store I went to in the mall was running an incredibly fabulous sale, which had me thanking the Shopping Gods that I didn’t bring my purse with me.
• The men’s department at most department stores carries no less than 15 different varieties of white dress shirt.  Which makes me wonder, what is a “pinpoint” shirt, anyway?
• I had no idea that there were “Extra-Duty” tennis balls.  Are those for people who are losing and unhappy about it, and therefore hitting the balls with an “Extra-Duty” swing?

As you can see, the differences in my two days of ACCRA price collecting are great, and make for a couple of fun days out on the town – great people-watching, fashion -observing and dinner -inspiring days to be exact.

So what’s next for ACCRA Girl?  I will sit inside at my desk, staring out at the beautiful Grand Junction spring weather, reminiscing about all of the fun things I’ve seen, and spend some time inputting the plethora of data in to the Cost of Living’s website.  The geniuses-that-be will analyze mine and hundreds of other communities’ data and produce a report which will compare us all with each other.  Will we be high?  Will we be low?  Or will we just be fabulous, as we all already knew?

Be sure to check the GJEP website often to see how we stack up against our counterparts in other parts of the country.

As Director of First Impressions for the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, I wear many hats to do my job, sometimes several hats in one day.  One of the most fun hats that I get to wear is that of ACCRA Girl.

“ACCRA?  What the heck is that?  Some communicable disease that we should all be aware of and appropriately afraid?”

Close.  But no.   ACCRA stands for the American Chamber of Commerce Research Association and is a very intensive research program used to determine a community’s cost of living. 

Among many things, an area’s cost of living is a very important factor in the decision of where to live, or where to do business.  If the cost of living is too high, living and working may be too expensive while a low cost of living may be a great incentive to relocate.  But how on Earth do you figure out an area’s cost of living?  That’s where ACCRA Girl comes in.  Let me explain:

Every quarter, hundreds or thousands of people across the country set out to determine how their community compares to others by gathering price information on hundreds of goods and services.  We price everything from bread and milk to haircuts and tennis balls, mortgage rates and dry cleaning.  This process takes place over three very specific days, and those three days ONLY, for the entire country.  This ensures prices are truly comparable. 

Each person, or entity uses the exact same list of items and services to price, and all of the prices are to be gathered with “upper middle management” preferences in mind; i.e., don’t go to the thrift store to get prices for boys’ jeans.  Some of the items specify a certain brand name or product size, again to ensure complete comparability across the board.  You must price ONLY that brand and/or size, or the information is not accurate.

For the Grand Junction MSA, I use a pool of 6 grocery stores for the grocery prices, and at least five sources for all other categories.  This involves a lot of calling, and a lot of driving/walking.  For this project, the tedium and the fun go hand-in-hand.  For example:

• Those adorable summer sandals that are so stylish and comfortable for every day, are NOT so comfortable when you are visiting six grocery stores in one afternoon.
• I never realized there are so many different varieties of tuna.
• People look at you very strangely when you walk in to a grocery store with no purse, no wallet, no basket or buggy, just a notebook and pen, and go up and down EVERY aisle taking notes, but never actually make a purchase.
• Some businesses are very reluctant to give price information over the phone, especially when your questions are as specific as, “I need to get the price of a thigh and drumstick only, no meal, no drink.  Just a thigh and drumstick please.”  Or “I need to know the cost of a full vision eye exam for an established adult patient, including eye examination, eyeglass prescription, glaucoma and dilation.”  No, I would not like fries with that, thank you very much.
• Rolling down the windows between stores, blaring your favorite tunes as loud as you can stand it and singing along equally loudly greatly improves your chances of getting through this process without a migraine headache.
• Kleenex makes no less than 5 different “count” size boxes of facial tissues.
• Pretending like you’re having a party makes pricing three different very specific varieties of alcohol from 7 different stores seem more socially acceptable.
• Looking at T-Bone steaks for three hours makes you very hungry.
• For every person who is suspicious of you for asking so many detailed questions, there are at least three more who are wonderfully kind and helpful.

So now that you have a taste of the most interesting hat that I wear for my job at GJEP, the next time you see someone driving down the street with their windows rolled down, jamming to “Bad Romance,” it might just be ACCRA Girl determining the Grand Junction MSA’s Cost of Living.  Just smile and wave.

To view more about Grand Junction MSA’s Cost of Living click, here.

“Bueller, Bueller?  Anyone, Anyone?” are the words which made Ben Stein famous as an economics teacher in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Yesterday, 25 years later, Ben Stein’s words at the Mesa State College’s Entrepreneurship Day were perhaps not as iconic but infinitely more meaningful.

Prior to his keynote speech at lunch I had the opportunity to participate in a small group discussion with Stein on “Sustainable Growth in Regional Economic Cycles.” While he did not disappoint in the comedy department, Stein also showed his considerable expertise as an economist. Simple and to the point he stated that the factors contributing to the recession and higher unemployment were out of our control. However “a flexible, highly adaptive and mobile labor force will not stay unemployed for long” and “education is key.” Stein is absolutely right. Our ability to create jobs in our community is greatly impacted by the skills, talent and expertise of our labor force, in which Mesa State College, our regional education provider plays an important role.  The recent establishment of an engineering program is a perfect example. Opportunities for our labor force to increase or re-engineer their skill sets will allow them to follow new career paths and meet the needs of local business. Tomorrow afternoon the official opening of the Mesa State Engineering program and building takes place. Although it is probably coincidenidental that these two events occur in the same week, Stein’s words will no doubt resonate as we celebrate increasing educational opportunities for our very own labor force.

Local legend Tillie Bishop escorts Ben Stein into Mesa State's Maverick Center