Terry Burroughs, Chair, Florida Heartland Economic Region of Opportunity (FHERO)

In a conversation with Invest:, Chair of Florida Heartland Terry Burroughs shared his passion for the development of the region, serving communities with limited access to broadband, and ensuring that economic growth is balanced with sustainable practices.

What key economic development strategies have been implemented to promote growth and attract businesses to Florida’s Heartland?

We’ve done a lot in terms of our workforce, promoting what type of workforce we have here. The marketing piece for the Florida Heartland Economic Region of Opportunity has been at the forefront of trying to articulate the strategic value of being in the central portion of the state where you have nothing but land opportunity. We have focused on trying to make sure that people from all over understand that we are open for business and that we have the opportunities here that can fulfill any particular business, specifically manufacturing and technology companies.

What opportunities do you see for economic growth within the region?

In Okeechobee County, we have been working with Johnny Morris out of Bass Pro. We’d like to create an opportunity at the mouth of the lake as a resort rather than a Bass Pro store. We’re also working on the first privately owned commercial freight airport in Henry County.

What initiatives or strategies are in place to improve regional broadband access?

I spent 32 years in the technology business. We have several rural electric co-ops connecting homes in Glades County, Henry County, and the western portion of Okeechobee County to fiber. I’m working with Comcast and several other organizations to expand broadband into Okeechobee County and Hardy County.

Given that we’ve tried to identify the unserved and underserved areas, which is a very interesting challenge, we need to ensure that we’re putting the fiber optics in the right place at the maximum value because we won’t get funding from the federal government any longer. So you have to put your best foot forward to ensure you have accessibility not only for businesses but also for schools, medical, and the whole gamut of anything the human race utilizes today.

What specific collaborations with other organizations, local governments, and stakeholders are in place to achieve your goals?

The organization is made up of commissioners plus the economic development organizations from each county. We work with each county to determine their needs, whether it be marketing, retail, or strategies. Each one of those CEOs works with the bureau at our board meetings, which we have every other month. We’ve got a vibrant economic development organization in each county, which will be the basis for success.

What specific industries or sectors are in focus to diversify the region’s economy?

We’ve recently focused on various light and heavy manufacturing levels. In Okeechobee County, we have been working with our Indian River State College to put a data park into a former Florida boys’ school. The Indian River State College has had the opportunity from the state to start building that out into a data park. Our focus has been data centers, technology and manufacturing. I can’t forget about our agricultural-based communities because agribusiness is huge in this area. For example, in Okeechobee County, we have over 180,000 beef cattle, and I only have 41,000 constituents.

How do you encourage entrepreneurship and innovation within the region?

Each one of the economic development organizations does a lot of training, whether it be a county or a city municipality, to understand what’s required to attract businesses. In Okeechobee County, I run a leadership organization out of the chamber of commerce. I happen to be the vice chairman of the chamber of commerce. We work with our local individuals to talk about how they can start their own business and become an entrepreneur. We have business retention processes in place to ensure that we not only bring in new businesses, but we also make sure we can retain the existing businesses that we have.

What specific metrics are in place to measure the organization’s impact?

When we go in front of each county to articulate what we have done over the last year, we make presentations to demonstrate the value that we provide. We talk to them about what we do and the grant we bring in from our rural infrastructure funds and the rural development grant fund. We put on a rural summit where we bring in all 29 rural counties and demonstrate to each one of the counties the value add so that we can exchange ideas, ensuring that we have the best ideas to be implemented in our community.

What is your vision for the Heartland region, and how do you plan to realize it in the coming years?

When I first started FHERO a number of years ago, my vision was to make sure I had qualified people to be in these economic development organizations, and without that, you’re just not going to be successful. We have achieved that portion of it. Now, I have to grow those particular individuals by training everyone. I view it this way: training is the heart of ensuring somebody will be successful. Getting them involved in different opportunities, whether they attend conferences or site selector conferences where they can meet people and exchange ideas, ensures that they continue on a growth pattern. As we move along, my vision is to get to the next level of growth for my economic development organizations.