Jonathon Goering has just joined the team at Thrive Allen County as their new economic development manager.
The Register sat down with him during his second day on the job to see how things were going so far during his transition to living and working in Iola, and to get a sense for his economic development vision for Allen County.
Goering has been living in Wichita the past 17 years, but was born and raised on a farm in McPherson County, near the town of Inman.
Hence he “appreciates the uniqueness of rural America … its greater sense of community.”
Goering attended Tabor College in Hillsboro, where he majored in communication studies, then went on to careers in radio and print journalism, and eventually marketing.
He noted how complex the field of economic development is, pointing out that if you asked 10 people to define it, you’d likely get 10 different answers.
“In my mind,” he said, “economic development is really the following things: supporting local businesses, looking for ways for them to expand and grow; and it’s looking at attracting new businesses.”
“It is supporting a local workforce, making sure that workforce is strong and well-trained, and I believe it’s also a quality of life issue.”
He added as well that “in some instances, sustainability to me makes sense, just maintaining what you have,” which is especially the case since “local businesses are the life-blood of your community.”
Goering emphasized the importance of establishing communication between the public, the city, the county and entities like Iola Industries, in order to determine what their needs are.
“I feel like listening is going to be one of the most important things,” he said, for example, when determining what incentives a business would be excited about, or what incentives the city or county might offer to potential businesses.
