Holdrege Earns Recertification

Holdrege, Nebraska has earned recertification in the Nebraska Economic Development Certified Community Program for another five years. The program is sponsored by the Nebraska Diplomats and administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED).

“Holdrege is a progressive community that has really embraced the Certified Community Program and all it offers since the very beginning,” said Nebraska Diplomats President Dan Shundoff. “It will be enjoyable to see what the next five years of growth and development hold in store for Holdrege.”

Holdrege (pop. 5,534) is experienced with the process, having earned certification in 2006 and recertification in 2009. According to Monica Boyken, executive director of Phelps County Development Corp. (PCDC), it is a process that has helped her organization stay focused on the growth and development goals at hand.

“Arthur Ashe once said ‘Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome,’” Boyken said. “(While) organizations can get pulled off track in a dozen directions, recertification keeps communities focused on the fundamentals and best practices of economic development organizations.”

Holdrege has remained vigilantly focused on improving the quality of life and local economy through attracting new and expanding businesses.

•This past May, PCDC closed on a 134-acre tract of land that will become the community’s business and industry park. The next focus will be on extending utilities to the park and marketing its benefits.

•Allmand Bros., the county’s second largest employer, completed a $3.5 million, 40,000-sq.-ft.expansion in 2013.

•The local Cargill plant is undergoing a $30 million site expansion that includes increasing storage capacity and improving access to markets via the addition of new railroad service and technology to load 120-car shuttle trains.

•Also notable is the addition of 22 new small businesses and 92 associated jobs.

Communities exhibiting economic development readiness are eligible to earn certification once approved by a review committee. Communities are judged against standards including organization, local industry target identification and workforce issues, infrastructure, local financing and business assistance, as well as child care. For more information on the Economic Development Certified Communities program contact Andrea McClintic at andrea.mcclintic@nebraska.gov or 308-440-1490 or visit http://www.neded.org/economic-development-certified-community.