Q&A With HCEDA CEO Dick Story

By Mark R. Smith, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF



Dick Story has served as CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA) since September 1993 and has worked in the industry for 30 years. He holds the Certified Economic Developer designation and has been named a Fellow Member by the International Economic Development Council for his long-term service to the profession.

Story has served the public sector as executive director of the Carroll County Economic Development Commission from 1979 to 1983 and as executive director of the Baltimore County Economic Development Commission from 1989 to 1991. He has also held leadership positions with such organizations as the Greater Baltimore Committee, the Washington/Baltimore Regional Association and Maryland Economic Growth Associates.

He is active on several boards and commissions. He is a former chair of the BWI Development Council, the Area Business Development Officials Committee (which represents 21 economic development organizations in Greater Washington) and the Advisory Committee of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore.

Story currently chairs the Membership Committee of the Maryland Economic Development Association and serves on the board of directors of The Columbia Foundation, Humanim, the Baltimore Area Council/Boy Scouts of America and the Howard County Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the Howard County Superintendent's Advisory Committee for Business and Education Partnerships and is a director of the Howard County United Way Community Partnership.



What are the HCEDA's key accomplishments for 2008?

We had an excellent year. Job creation was high, unemployment low and the absorption of corporate real estate continued to be fairly robust. More specifically, we played a direct role in bringing some very impressive companies to Howard County.

They include database marketer Merkle, which moved into their new corporate headquarters in Columbia Gateway this summer; and Integral Systems, which announced that it will be bringing their corporate headquarters to Columbia in early 2009; and dozens of other companies that expanded in or brought new investment to Howard County.

The authority executed a successful marketing mission to Bangalore, India, that continues to pay dividends today. Other international companies, like Sagentia, which moved to Maple Lawn, are expanding our impressive base of international firms doing business in Howard County.

Our CoRE Tour of commercial real estate was very successful and we plan to continue repeating it every 18 months. Look for our next bus tour of Howard County in the spring of 2010. At that point, the recession should be over, new speculative office and industrial construction should have returned and the initial impacts of the base realignment process will just be starting. The timing will be excellent.



Aside from dealing with the bad economy, what are the key challenges your office faces at present?

That pretty much sums it up. Dealing with a bad economy is the main challenge for the HCEDA. Companies that deal with multi-year procurement contracts with the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and agencies like the National Security Agency are doing quite well. Their vendors, suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors are sharing in this prosperity, and that's largely a function of our proximity to Washington, D.C., and the excellence of the goods and services provided by Howard County-based companies.

But clearly, we are challenged by limited financial resources. Since there will never be sufficient funds to do everything we would like to do, we try to find ways to be smart about what we do. Partnerships with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the Greater Washington Initiative and the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore allow us to be participants in broader marketing initiatives. We benefit when any of these partnerships bring new investment into the region. Obviously, direct investment into Howard County real estate is preferred, but any investment in the state and region benefits us all.

Partnering with the private sector, especially commercial developers, real estate brokers and the financial services that support this dynamic is fundamental to our success.



How has the economic development industry changed since you joined the HCEDA 15 years ago?

2009 represents my 30th year in what is my second career. In some ways, not much has changed. The local economic development professional represents his/her community and serves as an early source of quality information for the corporate real estate people to make important (and expensive) decisions. Fundamentally, the job has always been about marketing and sales.

In other ways, everything has changed. The local economic development organization is much more involved in community issues, making sure the "product" has the best "curb appeal" possible. This curb appeal includes sites with proper zoning, infrastructure and other amenities in a community where the business climate is conducive to favorable real estate decisions.

In today's high tech world, companies can establish a new operation just about anywhere and, usually after cost factors are compared, wind up going where they feel most welcome by state and local governments.

Also, the Internet has allowed people who make these all-important decisions to find our web site and learn, in detail, about our community without us even being aware that they're interested. The challenge to us is to be sure our web site is rich with data that is beneficial to the decision maker, presented in ways that they can use, and that finding this information is simple and easy.

A final change in the economic development profession is collaboration. We invest a lot of time and resources in promoting regions. Being located at the center of the Baltimore-Washington combined market is a superior position than being at the periphery of both cities. Joining public/private regional partnerships is not new to economic development, but we've gotten better at making them work.



Are there any particular industries that your office is focusing on attracting at present?

Yes. Like most jurisdictions, we target those industry sectors that have the greatest impact when they make a conscious decision to locate a facility in Howard County. More on that in a moment.

Keep in mind, however that the overwhelming majority of new jobs are created by companies that are in Howard County already. Accordingly, our first focus is our resident business community, and we know, generally, who they are. We have developed a number of programs to let them know that the HCEDA can be very helpful as they continue to grow and expand here. Job one, therefore, is the retention and growth of our existing business base.

Because of the anticipated impacts of the Base Realignment and Closure, we're working within our small business community to help them be ready for a new level of contracting from the agencies that will move here by the year 2011. And, our small business development activities are concentrated at the Center for Business and Technology Development with its NeoTech Incubator, Business Resource Center and Howard Technology Council.

Now ... about attracting companies. Our Strategic Plan identifies six targets that include:

_ National, divisional and regional headquarters

_ Technology-driven manufacturing

_ Life sciences and medical technology

_ Federal government contractors

_ Informatics

_ Upscale retail

Many communities focus on these same sectors, but we think we have a unique set of assets and infrastructure in Howard County that will make us particularly attractive to companies in these fields. Information on our web site and printed materials are arrayed to highlight our advantages.

These are the sectors in which Howard County has excelled in the past and we expect these sectors to flourish here in the future.



What's next on the authority's agenda to attract more foreign businesses?

Our proximity to embassies in Washington makes Howard County a natural for foreign companies that want to establish a presence here, especially companies that are making their first U.S. investment. With Maryland's second highest concentration of foreign owned firms, we already have a base of international companies that can help us "make the sale."

Following our marketing mission to Bangalore, [India,] we continue to make connections among Howard County's resident Indian community. An Indian-American Business Roundtable has been formed in Howard County. After our first organizational meeting, we're continuing to develop a final agenda to hold future quarterly sessions.

In 2009 and beyond, we will continue to evaluate the expanding economies of the globe for opportunities to attract new investment to Howard County.



What does your office do to facilitate site location services for inquiring companies?

Beyond our web site, we customize presentation materials depending on the information needed by the client. The rule of thumb is not to hand over generic information, but to listen to the actual need of a company and provided the data they need to make a good decision.

Once a prospect is in the market, our role becomes that of an on-the-ground consultant. We provide identification and access to executives of companies that have made similar decisions or are in similar industry sectors. Following a favorable decision, we help companies navigate the site plan and building permit processes.



How many companies did your office assist in 2008?

When one of our goals is to enhance the business climate of Howard County, the easy answer to "How many companies did your office assist?" is all of them.

Actually, there are several answers. At the Center for Business and Technology Development, the Business Resource Center and its partners (j-ref, SCORE and SBDC) assisted nearly 1,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs in fiscal 2008. The NeoTech Incubator has 28 tenant companies and seven affiliate companies. The new Howard Technology Council has a growing membership and brings dozens of new technology companies to us. And our Entrepreneur-in-Residence Vic Hess meets regularly with many additional companies.

Our "traditional" economic development program generated 78 new prospects in fiscal 2008 in addition to nearly 100 companies visited during Business Appreciation Week, and 150 participants in the CoRE Tour. We also coordinated County Executive Business Visits to selected companies and two CEO Breakfasts hosted by County Executive Ken Ulman. Twenty-eight companies are participating in the HowardJobs.com initiative.

The final numbers point to the HCEDA having had direct contact with at least 2,000 companies in 2008, much of which was required assistance and follow-up.



Do you believe that your sense of humor is a benefit in business environs? Or are you just having fun?

Both.



How do you measure the success of the HCEDA?

The simple answer is in tracking such indicators as job and wage growth, employment and unemployment, absorption and vacancies in real estate, median household income and growth in the corporate sector of Howard County property tax revenues. In all these measures, Howard County compares very well to state and national averages.

Actually, our strategic plan is based upon about 100 benchmarks, compared to 20 selected communities around the country. Most of these variables are tracked to generate input into the annual planning retreat and for the next Strategic Economic Development Plan.