Economic Development Week is keeping us #StoryCountyStrong

Each May the Ames Economic Development Commission (AEDC) celebrates Economic Development Week, commemorating the power of partnerships and highlighting the importance of a coordinated economic development effort in our communities.

Two years ago, we launched the hashtag #StoryGrows in conjunction with Economic Development Week. We came up with this simple catchphrase as a way to share the story of economic growth in our communities not just during Economic Development Week, but throughout the entire year.

This year our plans changed a bit. While we will still keep #StoryGrows as a tag to highlight economic success throughout Story County, we have also added the tag #StoryCountyStrong to our communications. #StoryCountyStrong is our way of uniting the communities together through the current hardships we are facing. It is designed to build unity and spread positivity. To put it simply, our story cannot grow unless we are #StoryCountyStrong.
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I truly believe we are #StoryCountyStrong. Although it may feel like we are at a standstill while we wait for the COVID-19 pandemic to end, we are still moving forward and growing our community. Burke Corporation is hiring over 200 people for the expansion they have nearly completed, and Amcor just announced the creation of 42 jobs a few weeks ago. These expansions tell that we are not withering away in the face adversity, but instead confronting the challenges head on to show that we are strong, united, and we will not let our community fall.

The AEDC team will continue to work for our communities, finding the next great job-creator, attracting the next big business, supporting the up and coming startups, and advocating for the next quality of life amenity. We refuse to let Story County down, we will continue to build, continue to grow, and continue to remain strong.

I encourage you to follow our Facebook and Twitter pages (@AmesEDC) May 4-8 so we can show you the many ways our story continues despite the pandemic we are in. Remember, we are in this together, and together we are #StoryCountyStrong.