By Joe Conaway
The year 2020 was anything but perfect. As a nation, state and county, I think I speak for all by saying it was a year that will not soon be forgotten.
Sussex County Economic Development Action Committee Inc. (SEDAC) was affected, as were all organizations. Our last in-person meeting was in February. Like many of you, I have learned more about Zoom than I ever wanted to know.
Given the problems associated with the pandemic, SEDAC still managed to have a good year. Membership continues to expand in the type and size of businesses joining, sharing our view of sustainable economic prosperity for all of Sussex.
We continue to push for jobs that keep young people here, protect existing businesses and industries, and make Sussex County even more attractive to new business.
Included among the many topics we distributed in 2020 were SEDAC’s 2019 annual report, a report on growth funding, efforts to expand broadband that helped get the lion’s share of a $20 million state grant for Sussex County and news of positive economic-development happenings that are unfolding in our county.
We met with two of the Sussex chambers of commerce, and began discussions with the Public Private Partnership (PPP), bringing attention to Sussex County. We hoped that this would lead to greater cooperation among economic-development players, but the pandemic put a damper on this for now. We will continue our sponsorship of the Sussex County Today & Tomorrow Conference.
We created a committee to work with the medical community addressing the shortage of doctors in Sussex. Under the leadership of David Baker, we offered a suggestion to help address this. Since 1970, the state has funded the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER), assisting Delaware students in getting into Sydney Kimmel Medical College and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and helps pay their expenses.
These students are not required to practice in Delaware upon graduation. Since 1970, there have been 1,206 DIMER students but only 229 have returned to Delaware. That’s 19%. Of that group, 37 have returned to Sussex, only 3%. The addition of a requirement to return to Delaware for a period of time would help solve this problem.
How bad is the shortage? In 2011, there were 163 primary care physicians in Sussex County. In 2018, there were 112.
SEDAC also submitted to the Sussex County Council suggestions on implementing the section of the county comprehensive plan dealing with economic development. These suggestions include 1) a fully staffed and functional Economic Development Office; 2) a review of county regulations that hinder growth; 3) strengthening partnerships with and among the various economic-development groups in the county; 4) establishment of a Sussex County Business Resource Center; 5) development of additional job-training partnerships with the education community; 6) continuing to promote the agricultural industry; and, finally, 7) supporting continued growth of tourism.
We endorsed a number of projects and government policies including the Apprentice Program in Delaware and changes to the state’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Program, and we continued support for the “Ready in Six” program to reduce regulatory delay for economic-development projects and affordable housing. We endorsed additional funding for Primeros Pasos Early Childhood Learning Center, to help it increase the size of its Georgetown facility; supported the county’s Funding Accelerating Safety in Transportation (FAST) Track Program to improve Sussex roads; supported the Carl M. Freeman Foundation’s “Our Town” application through the National Education Association; and, reluctantly, said goodbye and thank you to Steve Guthrie for his great efforts as superintendent of the Sussex Technical School District.
I would be remiss if I didn’t thank member and secretary Linda Price for all her efforts on behalf of SEDAC: scheduling meetings, preparing our annual report and keeping our minutes precise and to the point. Without her efforts, I am not sure just where SEDAC would be. Thank you, Linda!
I want to thank our membership for its efforts to make SEDAC successful. We are all volunteers, and, without members’ help and advice, nothing would be possible. We wish all of you a Happy New Year and look forward to the day that our children will not have long drives home during the holidays because their good-paying jobs are right here in Sussex County.
Joe Conaway is chairman of the Sussex Economic Development Action Committee Inc. For more information, visit sedac-de.org.
