About the GFMEDC

About the GFMEDC

With 80 years of serving the region’s economic development needs, the GFMEDC Board, staff and 150 private and public organizations remain dedicated to the regional economy’s biggest driver – primary-sector companies.

A Strategic Playbook

The GFMEDC team is executing a multi-year strategy to support economic growth and vitality. Critical components of our playbook include:

CORE PURPOSE (WHY WE EXIST)

• Cultivate an economic environment where all people and organizations flourish

CORE BUSINESS (WHAT WE DO) – SUCCESS OF PRIMARY-SECTOR COMPANIES

• Retention & Expansion
• Attraction
• New Company Development

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES (HOW WE WILL GET THERE)

• Targeted Sector Growth in the areas of Biosciences, AgTech and Autonomous Systems
• Workforce Ecosystem infrastructure and sustainable funding model developed and implemented
• Increase the organization’s revenue to support our mission, especially having a focus on more private sector funding
• Develop and maintain a common framework for regional flourishing
• Carving our region’s niche in the new world of work

CORE VALUES (WHAT WE BELIEVE AND HOW WE BEHAVE)

• Show Genuine Care
• Create New Possibilities
• Make it Happen

STRATEGIC PILLARS (HOW WE SUCCEED)

• Serve as a Business Concierge to primary-sector companies
• Workforce Alignment by partnering to co-create and implement strategies to address workforce challenges, with our specific leadership focused on workforce recruitment
• Ecosystem Development by intentionally catalyzing, convening, and collaborating to solve the biggest problems and create new opportunities to drive our economy

Setting Up for success

With overarching goals, sub-goals and tactics along with a scorecard highlighting our data-driven results, we’ll continue supporting regional growth through strong business concierge services and collaborative initiatives.

2026 Programs, Budget & Results

The Work of Your GFMEDC Team

Do you want to know more about who we are as well as the what and why of our work? Check out the following videos that dive into our core areas of business development, workforce and data.

It takes strong engagement from a talented board, experienced staff and the right resources to do the critical work of the GFMEDC. Fortunately, if you click the links below we think you’ll agree, we’re checking all the boxes.
GFMEDC Board of Directors GFMEDC Staff GFMEDC Investors

Primary-Sector Primer

A primary-sector business is one that brings new wealth into the community through the sales of its goods and services outside the trade area. The new wealth circulates and supports all other sectors of the local economy, thus making the primary sector the principal driver of economic and community growth. A growing primary sector ensures the health of the local economy and affects every other sector and every occupation in the community.

We tend to get asked why we aren’t working to bring a Trader Joe’s.

Simple answer?

They’re not a primary-sector business.

Companies like Aldevron or Marvin are great examples. They are two of the region’s many primary-sector companies. A company doesn’t need to be as large as those companies. In fact, they could have two employees or 2,000. The key is how they sell and distribute goods.

A primary-sector company like Aldevron or Marvin could be located anywhere in the world and still maintain the same customer base. If a grocery store moved its location from one state to another, it would need to find a new customer base.