By SUSTAIN BLAINE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
We, the undersigned, are members of the advisory board to Sustain Blaine, the local group behind the GoBlaine strategy to create economic vitality throughout Blaine County. We represent broad cross-sections of the community, from Carey to Ketchum, in sectors that include business, government, nonprofit groups, education, agriculture, real estate, the arts, transportation, housing and health. We are united in one cause: to foster economic vitality throughout Blaine County.
Since unveiling the GoBlaine strategy last July, we've been hard at work to form and fund an entity with the resources, authority and legal structure capable of enacting it. Today, we are happy to announce the formation of the Sun Valley Economic Development Corp., serving Bellevue, Carey, Hailey, Ketchum, Sun Valley and Blaine County.
Our purpose in writing is to explain why we chose the name Sun Valley Economic Development Corp. for a body that serves the entire county. One of the key elements of the GoBlaine strategy is to leverage the Sun Valley brand. The fact that we have an internationally recognized brand holds tremendous value. We want to unleash that value to benefit the entire county.
On a practical level, "Sun Valley" is how the outside world knows our area. It is the likely keyword someone would use when searching the Internet. Adding more words—such as "regional" or "area"—muddies Internet search results, so we consciously chose to not incorporate them. We want anyone looking to do business in our area to find us quickly and easily.
Using "Sun Valley Economic Development Corp." is similar to approaches used successfully elsewhere. For example, in the Boise area, the Boise Valley Economic Partnership represents Meridian, Caldwell, Nampa, Eagle, Star, Garden City and Emmett, as well as Boise.
To make clear that the Sun Valley Economic Development Corp. represents the entire region, we intend to widely use the tagline "serving Bellevue, Carey, Hailey, Ketchum, Sun Valley and Blaine County, Idaho." We recognize the unique features of each distinct community; the Sun Valley Economic Development Corp. will support and celebrate those differences.
The formation of the Sun Valley Economic Development Corp. represents a remarkable effort in our valley. Its creation has been completely by volunteers, with interested citizens pitching in and local experts providing pro-bono counsel. We invite you to join in.
We are currently seeking nominations to a 13-member board. Six seats are held by appointees from each of the cities and the county. The remaining seven seats will be held by citizens. All full- and part-time residents who support the GoBlaine strategy are encouraged to nominate themselves.
For more information, please contact Chair Doug Brown at dougbrownsv@gmail.com or (208) 309-0187. To learn more about the GoBlaine strategy, please log on to www.sustainblaine.org or join the GoBlaine group on Facebook.
The members of the Sustain Blaine Advisory Board are:
Rick Baird, Friedman Memorial Airport
Doug Brown, Wood River Economic Partnership
Tom Bowman, Blaine County
Julie Cord, agriculture
Mike Chatterton, Blaine County School District
Bob Crosby, Sawtooth Board of Realtors
Craig Eckles, city of Bellevue
Vanessa Fry, past chairperson
Krista Gehrke, business
Harry Griffith, at-large member
Linda Haavik, land-use planning
Randy Hall, city of Ketchum
Rebekah Helzel, ARCH Community Housing Trust
Rick Hickman, Sun Valley Co.
Bruce Jensen, St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center
Joy Kasputys, VJK Consulting
Don Keirn, city of Hailey
George Kirk, development
Ted McCoy, entrepreneur
Sara Mecham, city of Carey
Jason Miller, Mountain Rides
Neil Morrow, Ketchum CDC
Carter Ramsay, young professional
Nils Ribi, city of Sun Valley
Bill Ryberg, Sun Valley Center for the Arts
Diana Takvam, at-large member
Carol Waller, Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau
