Year Two
– By #MillerSD
It’s hard to believe that I have been at On Hand for two years already. May 6, 2021 marks my official 2nd year anniversary date here at On Hand Development. (It’s also my husband’s birthday so it’s a big day at the Beranek home.) This last year has been a wild ride, but I am truly blessed to be sitting in this chair and doing the good work I get to do every day.
I find it funny that my anniversary date at On Hand Development happens to fall on Economic Development week! Economic Development week is when Economic developers from across the country promote economic well-being and quality of life for their communities by creating, retaining, and expanding jobs that facilitate growth, enhance wealth, and provide a stable tax base.
Accomplishments throughout this year haven’t all been homeruns from On Hand but we do have a lot to be proud of. Our Revolving Loan Fund has over $620,000 out to our community and has provided over 80 jobs in our county this last year, our sales tax is up, we visited over 150 businesses in Hand County, Miller was selected to be part of the Governor’s 1st Impression Tour, the Famous Steers on Main Street got a makeover, the Youth Mural got finished on the South Side of Polly Shoe store, we introduced our Hand County Recruitment Program to help businesses find and keep full time employees, Hand County was selected to receive grants to bring broadband to rural areas, and we are working with some potential hotel investors to bring a hotel to Miller.
Some of my very own personal accomplishments in this last year include; the meeting with all of the businesses being directly affected by COVID and all of those business owners working together, being accepted to the Indiana University School of Philanthropy with a full scholarship thanks to Dakota Resources, getting a grant from SD Housing to help a family in need get their house painted, finishing our new and improved website (www.millersd.org), and writing an article for the Miller Press every week and hearing how many folks enjoy reading it.
Economic development is a marathon, not a sprint. Ideas come in real fast but implementation takes time. There are systems, approval processes, financing hoops, and lots of other obstacles to overcome. Good work takes time. I am excited to be doing this good work for my community and I can’t wait for the years to come! Year two with On Hand went really fast and lots of obstacles were overcome. As a community, we have so much to be proud of. Let’s keep working together to make sure Hand County continues to THRIVE!
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