About 250 local business owners, area residents, and government officials
attended the 15th Annual Denison Economic Development Summit at the Hilton
Garden Inn recently. As the various speakers reviewed the accomplishments
of the past year and goals for the future, one theme kept reappearing –
Denison is not just moving forward, but kickin’ it up a notch.

Denison is an old town, built in 1870 by the engineers who were building the
Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad. They laid out the town in a grid pattern
with streets running in neat north/south or east/west rows and built
Waterloo Lake for flood control. Denison has long savored its rich history
capitalizing on it for tourism and economic growth. For years Denison has
been promoting itself as a historic, cultural center with a Main Street
America feel. As Gabe Reaume, Director of Development Services for the
City of Denison put it “Denison is going through a Renaissance”. It is
difficult to keep one foot firmly cemented to the past while leaping forward
with warp speed, but Denison has been planning this for quite some time.
Now it is time to take it to the next level.

One of the initiatives is geared toward repair and restoration of the
downtown central business district as historic buildings are being
resurfaced, windows replaced and streetscapes added. This all brings
freshness to what was just old. Financial assistance is available to building
owners, homeowners and builders as incentives to clean up, restore and
refurbish structures in need of repairs. To make the district more appealing
to loft dwellers and businesses alike, high speed internet with fiber optics
has been added to the entire overlay. Condemned and abandoned structures
are being demolished and in their place new homes are being built. Vacant
lots are available for development. Major emphasis is being placed on
infrastructure with a solid commitment to repair streets throughout the town.
To have quality of life, the focus must be on quality of place.

Housing has been and will continue to be one of the most critical concerns.
Gateway Village is at the forefront of this initiative. Included in the
development are single family residences, multi-family apartments and
assisted living facilities all surrounding a core of health care, retail and
entertainment venues. The open air concept retail center will be a magnet
for community events, outdoor concerts and gatherings. What’s so different
about this? Well, it is all centered on a healthy lifestyle. Sidewalks with
attractive lighting will connect residential neighborhoods to retail, health
care and dining establishments. The Texoma Health Foundation Park will be
another healthy lifestyle element. The new park which winds from Gateway
Village up to Waterloo Park includes multiple sports fields, parks, walking
paths and exercise facilities.

On the economic front, Janie Bates, Executive Director of Workforce Solutions Texoma reported that the unemployment rate in Denison is currently at 4%. That equates to about 2,400 people, down from 3,400 in 2014. In order to bring in more industry an area has to have a skilled workforce. Right now almost every major employer in the Denison area has openings. Two factors are at the core of the economic initiative – housing to bring in new employees and education to prepare young people for careers in the Denison/Sherman area.

The two strongest employers in the area are manufacturing and health care. Grayson College is now working cooperatively with area public schools to bring dual credit courses into the high schools so graduates can step into the workforce with level 1 certifications in these fields. Brian Aspell, VP of Manufacturing, Champion Cooler Corporation was quick to point out that manufacturing is not labor intensive any more. Furthermore, these are high paying jobs. Almost every task is automated requiring skills in math, science, engineering and soft skills like interpersonal relationships. To help introduce high school students to careers in manufacturing, area businesses have held “Manufacturing Day” events. This allows students to interact withmanufacturing employees and better understand the possibilities this career has to offer. It is certainly a win-win situation and a project that will be expanded to other schools in the Denison/Sherman MSA in the coming years.

Denison isn't complacent about what they have in place. They are busy going
about bringing in new industries. The Craft Beverage Alliance was formed in
2015, a cooperative effort between Denison, Sherman, and Grayson College
among others. Laws needed to be passed in order for these new
entrepreneurs to succeed. Currently Homestead Winery, Ivanhoe Ale Works,
Iron Root Republic in Denison and 903 Brewers in Sherman are producing
beverages made with locally grown fruits and grains. Visiting small breweries 
and distilleries is fast becoming a tourism favorite. Tours and tasting rooms
are popular side ventures for Lake Texoma visitors. The combination of
historic districts and craft beverages is very appealing.

On the tourism agenda for 2016, three new events are being added to an
already abundant calendar. Anna McKinney, President of the Denison Area
Chamber of Commerce announced the addition of the Doc Holiday Festival (I
told you this was an old town – Doc Holiday had an office here!), a Kids
Festival and Holiday on Ice. Winning the Levitt AMP award for the second
year in a row also presents a huge marketing opportunity. Winning this award
will allow Denison to bring nationally recognized talent to the summer Music
on Main outdoor concerts. Let me assure you, this is a fun for profit
endeavor. Levitt does an extensive national marketing campaign to promote
the concert series winners bringing national attention to Denison. The Denison
Chamber of Commerce and Denison Main Street Association work together to
create events that are attractive to visitors from outside the area as well as
area residents. Bringing visitors to the Denison/Sherman MSA means money,
big money. Hotels, restaurants, and retailers all benefit from the dollars
these visitors bring. In addition, the taxes collected go toward the number
one initiative – quality of place.

Business owners need roof tops to be profitable. In order to have roof tops,
jobs must be available. In order to attract quality businesses to relocate (or
stay) here a skilled workforce must be available. In order to have a skilled
workforce, education must be available. It takes a very carefully
orchestrated effort to bring all of these elements together successfully. If
one element breaks down, the economic health of the area is at risk. For
example, when TrailBlazer announced that it had lost is major contract in
October of 2014, hundreds of employees faced unemployment. The Denison
Development Alliance, the Denison Development Foundation, Texoma
Workforce Solutions, city officials, Grayson College Center for Workforce
Learning all went into action and found a replacement. Enter National
Government Services which opened in April of 2015 absorbing most of the
laid off employees and creating new jobs.

Was this just luck? Well, my definition of luck is when hard work meets
opportunity. Under the leadership of Toni Kaai, CEcD, President of the
Denison Development Alliance/Denison Development foundation, the hard
work has been ongoing for many years. To make this hard work pay off,
Denison leadership always looks for the opportunity. Their slogan may be
Moving Forward, Kickin’ Back but is seems more like Moving Forward, Kickin’
it up a Notch is more appropriate!