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This November, COSTEP, the South Texas Economic Development Council, traveled to Austin to meet with state partners and further its mission to foster regional economic development in the Rio South Texas region. COSTEP/RSTEF CEO Adam Gonzalez, COSTEP Director Rick Carrera, Department of Economic Development’s Rafael Tapia and RSTEF Grants Manager Rafael Tapia meet with Texas Economic Development Corporation and Economic Development and Tourism officials did.
As part of the visit, the COSTEP team had the opportunity to meet with the Texas Economic Development Corporation offices and visit with President and CEO Aaron Demerson and Vice President of Business Development Dale Robertson. The Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC) is an independently funded and operated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization responsible for marketing and promoting Texas as a premier business location. TxEDC educates a targeted audience of corporate decision makers and site selection consultants about Texas business interests through a robust program of domestic and international investment attraction missions, industry events, media relations, advertising, and other signature initiatives. Spreading superiority. This organization is made possible through the support of a wide range of organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and privately held companies across the state. COSTEP is also one of the TxEDC investors. This partnership has enabled COSTEP to voice local concerns at the state level and promote the region internationally.
The main focus of the trip was a meeting with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism. The COSTEP team had the opportunity to meet with Project Development Team Leader Sean Ferguson and the rest of the Project Coordination/Business Development team. The group responsible for sending RFIs to Texas when companies are interested in locating there. COSTEP was interested in learning about the RFI development process and best practices when responding to RFIs. The meeting also featured Larry McManus, Director of Business and Community Development, who provided valuable information to the COSTEP group and led to discussions about future collaboration to strengthen regional responses to state leads.
The COSTEP team completed a day trip to Austin by attending a reception by the Texas Secretary of State for the Japanese delegation from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Thanks to the invitation from TxEDC, the COSTEP team was able to visit with members of the delegation and build valuable connections.
Special thanks to Matt Ruszczak, Legislative Director in the Office of Congressman Ryan Gillen. A veteran of regional economic development in the Rio South Texas region, Matt served as Executive Director of the Rio South Texas Economic Council (RSTEC) prior to joining COSTEP as Director of Economic Development. Although unscheduled, Matt was kind enough to give us the time to visit and talk shop with the COSTEP team.
COSTEP, the South Texas Economic Development Council, is a non-governmental organization that advocates for regional economic development in the seven-county region of Rio, South Texas. Serving Willacy, Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Jim Hogg, Zapata, and Webb Counties. COSTEP focuses on corporate recruitment services and provides regional market data to host site selector tours, regional familiarization tours, and regional economic development enhancement sessions. To learn more about how you can support our work, please visit COSTEP.org or contact Adam Gonzalez at agonzalez@costep.org.
