While business as usual has a unique connotation in 2020, Team Volusia staff continues to proactively reach out to the business community in an effort to market Volusia County as a business location. The team was able to attend 10 in-person events prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and they continued to remain active by attending strategic virtual events. Staff attended two notable virtual events which included the IMPACT Virtual Summit and Business Facilities LiveXchange.
The IMPACT Virtual Summit was a 5-day event held in late August which focused specifically on the manufacturing and distribution sectors. Using the same data-driven matching approach as the traditional in-person events, IMPACT provided very targeted one-on-one prearranged virtual meetings for the team. TVEDC was represented by Chris Wimsatt and Heather Shubirg and also included Team Volusia investors Elizabeth Godwin with Duke Energy and Cathy Chambers with Florida Power & Light. Together, the group met one-on-one with 52 companies and resulted in at least six non-disclosure agreements (NDA’s) for potential new projects.
Team Volusia EDC also had the opportunity to participate in the 2020 Business Facilities LiveXchange virtual event thanks to the generous support of Duke Energy Foundation. This year’s event provided a practical and strategic conference program that helped attendees better plan and manage their companies' immediate relocation and expansion projects. The event consisted of over 20 site location consultants/corporate real estate executives as well as various communities and five presenters. Each community and consultant had the opportunity to research the goals and services of attendees and schedule one-on-one meetings as desired. This process allowed for extremely customized conversations where connections are more probable. Chris Wimsatt with TVEDC and Elizabeth Godwin with Duke Energy jointly met with 15 potential clients and a number of leads were identified in the areas of manufacturing, back office services, and distribution.
