Lewis County Economic Development, through its board, the IDA and its brand, Naturally Lewis, are championing the growth of a community where people want to live, work, build business and play. We foster forward thinking and relationship building, connecting people, businesses, partnerships and resources to effectively and efficiently grow our county.
We focus on creating a solid and sustainable economic base by supporting practical, realistic programs and policies that advance businesses through diversification and by expanding markets locally, nationally and internationally. We are the bridge builders, proactively seeking and leading development for new and existing businesses, while leveraging our natural resources.
We believe growth comes from thoughtful risk taking, building community partnerships and making wise investments. Naturally Lewis is our mechanism for advocating and advising on investments and education that build a great quality of life, sustainable employment and collaborative plans that make Lewis County a community to thrive at work and at home.
The Strategic Planning Working Group lead in the creation of the Naturally Lewis Economic Development Strategic Plan and is working with an external facilitator, Christie Andrus-Nakano, using an appreciative, strengths-based process to understand the best of the past, dream about the best future and design the way forward together. As part of the discovery process, the IDA Board and Staff Working Group invited interested stakeholders to participate discussions at the February 2020 Business Leaders Breakfast where more than eighty people in attendance shared their thoughts on Lewis County thriving.
The second phase took place in March 2020 where the Board and Staff reviewed the input from Phase 1 – building on the strengths, opportunities and dreams to draft a plan and finalize the Strategic Plan. The finalizing of the Plan was deferred when the pandemic restrictions arose in March and the process resumed with the Board and Staff Working Group in October 2020 where this plan was completed. The process was designed to ensure the creation of a new strategic vision that meets the needs of the current Lewis County community in ways that emphasize collaborative, effective and efficient delivery of programs and services to enhance the vitality and viability of Lewis County’s economy, making it truly a place to live, work, build business and play.
While COVID-19 precautions prevented the initial completion of the Naturally Lewis Strategic Plan Framework process. The group opted to leverage this time in two ways:
The Working Group was able leverage these pilot priorities and the learnings from the partner feedback as they reconvened in the October 2020 finalize the strategic plan.