No official decisions were made at last Wednesday’s Wood County Economic Development Commission (WCEDC) meeting because there was not a quorum. Six board members went over the agenda but were unable to take any action.

Executive Director Christophe Trahan reported on ongoing projects and activities in the past month. Trahan attended the Mineola Chamber of Commerce annual meeting June 24 and accepted the 2021 member support award on behalf of the WCEDC.

Trahan also coordinated a demonstration for hotel occupancy tax collection software with the Wood County tax assessor’s office and other county department heads on July 8.

He attended the office of the governor’s small business series event in Kilgore June 23 at Kilgore College. WCEDC Marketing Chair Steve Eggleston was a panelist for the series. He participated in meetings representing the WCEDC with leadership in Quitman, Hawkins and Mineola with Government Affairs Chair Steven Steele to discuss the Master Planning Initiative and get input from local leaders.

Health Care and Human Services Chair Gwen Winters of Jarvis Christian University gave input on her committee’s work. They have developed a survey to gain input regarding Wood County citizens’ perceptions, views and thoughts on the current health care and human services in the county and the areas needing attention. 

The objective is to bring improvement for those living in the county and to make it more attractive to prospective new residents and businesses. Wood County residents are urged to take a few minutes to complete the survey, which can be found at www.woodcountytx.com.

WCEDC Chairman Tom Keenan talked about the policy for the WCEDC on ethics, conflicts and non-disclosure and the organization’s by-laws. These will be discussed and possibly acted on at a future meeting of the commission when a quorum is available.

Board member Lee Smith commented on Trahan’s WCEDC status report presentation at the recent commissioner’s meeting.

“I am so very proud of having him (Trahan) in this role to represent us as the executive for this body. Christophe did an incredible job representing this board,” Smith added. “I would encourage everyone on this board to make time to go sit in for the commissioners meeting, especially when we are on the agenda.” 

Eggleston reported on usage for the www.lovewoodcounty.com website. From May 1 through July 25, there were 11,779 page views and 8,010 new users. New visitors to the site accounted for 93.3% and 6.7% returning visitors.

Trahan reminded those in attendance about the Wood County Stakeholder’s meeting Aug. 2 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Mineola Civic Center.

“The purpose of this meeting is to connect local businesses and community leaders with regional workforce representatives and discuss how the community can utilize state-funded programs to address labor needs such as recruiting, skills gaps, and industry-specific training needs,” Trahan said. “Invitations were extended to representatives of all of ISDs in our region to include our local educators in this crucial stakeholder meeting as well.” 

The next meeting of the WCEDC will be noon, Aug. 24, at a location yet determined.