Today is my official first day as executive director for the Greater Freeport Partnership. First, let me start off by saying how honored and blessed I am to have this opportunity.
This week, I will meet with our public sector partner leaders and make connection with many of our major employers and small businesses. I look forward to getting to meet each of you but, with current circumstances, it is going to take me a little longer than I hoped to be able to make that connection in person. To help bridge the gap, we have planned a virtual “meet and greet” webinar for this Friday, May 15 at noon. You can find the details in a graphic below.
It is my expectation that the Partnership be the best one-stop destination that directs and connects businesses to the resources and strategies throughout all phases of the COVID-19 restoration process. The Partnership will continue to support businesses by providing guidance and direction through federal, state, regional and local programs in the recovery phase. At the same time, we are researching the best strategies being discussed and implemented by communities similar to ours for the safe reopening of businesses.
The goals of the Partnership are to assess our economic development, tourism and business services, look for areas of improvement and establish short and long term measurable goals in each focus area. Our organization’s already existing goals align to be the best advocate for recovery of our region from the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Finally, I wanted to commend the group of individuals who I now get to work with. I’ve been impressed with the work of the staff at the Partnership and look forward to leading this team. Also, I want to extend a huge thank you to Tess Dahm for doing a remarkable job serving as interim director for close to a year.
This is the first of many communications you will see from me in the near future and I hope you continue to reach out to me and the rest of the team with any questions and suggestions you have as we all move forward together.
Mark Williams, Executive Director
mwilliams@greaterfreeport.com
815-233-1353
