On April 2nd, 2003,thirty-eight community leaders gathered at the Sandusky Yacht Club to discuss and brainstorm the state of economic development in Erie County. The members represented a broad sector of local and regional economic interest, including county, city and township representation. Other participants from local industry, education, banking , real estate, development, utility, and media sectors also were in attendance. The meeting was facilitated by Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) staff members Don Jakeway, Margy Poorman, and Eileen Granata.

The agenda for the meeting included exploring developmental barriers and opportunities in Erie County. This was done by an inventory of local strengths and weaknesses. The session then moved toward development of a master plan by means of identifying key strategies to stimulate new business and existing industry. The open forum format produced diverse comments and opinions on development from various perspectives. This was a key intent of the seminar, to bring community stakeholders together in order to form a comprehensive overview of the future economic growth in Erie County.

The RGP then consolidated and categorized all comments, distilling the major goals that will drive future initiatives. The  final strategic report  was then presented to the public on August 27th and adopted by the Board of Trustees at the September 9th quarterly meeting.  Click below to view the entire plan.