When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the region, the Kerr Economic Development Corporation (KerrEDC) knew that without action, their small businesses and residents would be hit the hardest. What they needed to learn was how best to serve their community. To do so, they brought together partners from local industries, workforce organizations, and educators to talk through the challenges they were facing and how best to address them. The initial success of these conversations developed into a long-standing quarterly roundtable, where KerrEDC facilitates conversations on how best to proactively address new challenges that arise in their community.
KerrEDC established a four-way partnership between economic development, workforce, industry, and education organizations to form their quarterly roundtables. While this program was originally created in response to the challenges COVID-19 presented in 2020, they have since evolved into proactive and action-oriented discussions that address a wide range of regional challenges.
This report and content was prepared on behalf of the Texas Economic Development Council using federal funds under award #08-69-05432 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
