WIRE-Net Board Meeting

I spent today on the shores of Lake Erie with the WIRE-Net board. For those of you who do not know, WIRE-Net is the West Side Industrial Retention and Expansion Network. I learned about WIRE-Net years ago, while doing economic development projects in the South.

Business retention and expansion represents the "dishwashing" of economic development. It's not the exciting part of the profession, but it is the most important. The reason is simple: Most jobs are created by established businesses. Over its 17 year history, WIRE-Net has figured out how to deliver value added services to manufacturers on Cleveland's West Side. It is a national model, but I suspect that most economic development leaders in Cleveland do not consider it so. Their mistake.

WIRE-Net's value is even more important now, because Northeast Ohio should be standing in the national spotlight in discussions over the future of manufacturing. REI will be working more closely with WIRE-Net in the months ahead. The immediate opportunities for collaboration focus on helping WIRE-Net move forward as an effective advocate of the manufacturing economy in Northeast Ohio.