JobsOhio president says economic development requires teamwork

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

The president of JobsOhio came to Springfield for the first time on Wednesday.

Newly appointed president J.P. Nauseef spoke about being more transparent about Ohio’s economic development strategy and as part of his vision for JobsOhio during the Chamber of Greater Springfield’s Economic Development Lunch & Learn event.

“This is a team sport,” Nauseef said. “There is no ‘I” in team, but there is an ‘I’ in economic development.”

JobsOhio is a private non-profit corporation deigned to drive job creation and new capital investments into Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion efforts, according to their website.

Nauseef was appointed president of JobsOhio in February.

LOCAL: New vineyard and winery in Urbana to open next week

“I’ve been speaking across the state, in an attempt to get an unbiased view from our partners about economic development in our local areas,” Nauseef said.

Before being selected for the position Nauseef served as president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, which is a regional partner of JobsOhio.

“Being new in this position,” Nauseef said, “I want to help clear up any concerns you might have. I want to find out what people are concerned about.”

Nauseef said that while he is, “just getting his feet wet,” in his new position, he has already begun to make plans for JobsOhio.

“I want to work on being more transparent with the public about what we are doing,” Nauseef said. “We are going to compete and win, globally, for people and capital investment in jobs, so we need to be more open and communicate more.”

Horton Hobbs, vice president of Economic Development for the Chamber of Greater Springfield, discussed recent job growth in the region, as well as advancements within the local economy over the last year.

Hobbs touched a number of projects that are currently ongoing, including construction on an $8 million townhome development in downtown Springfield.

LOCAL: Springfield City Commission to talk about next phase of parking garage

“Which I’m being told already has a wait list,” Hobbs said.

Springfield hasn’t had a housing development the size of the townhome development, which will have 34-units, since around 1990, Hobbs said.

Hobbs also announced that construction will begin the first week of July on a downtown Springfield parking garage.

The garage has been discussed by the City Commission for several years as a way to provide additional parking downtown as the city works to attract more retail and business to the center of the city.

“I hope all of you see opportunity in Clark County. I hope you all share the enthusiasm that I have for this community,” Hobbs said. “Not only for our partners, but for the way that our community is going to grow.”

About the Author