Staff writer
Plus president says manufacturing important to economic comeback
COEUR d'ALENE -- Steve Griffitts is confident in his weather prediction: The sun is going to come out in April and eventually, it will stop snowing here.
He has the same confidence in his economic forecast that businesses will rebound, jobs will bounce back, shoppers will return to stores and things will get better.
"People are not afraid of what happened," said the president of Jobs Plus. "They're afraid of what's to come. Let me put you at rest."
Griffitts cited the reasons for his optimism during his presentation, "The Value of Economic Growth," to about 400 people at Tuesday's Upbeat Breakfast at The Coeur d'Alene Resort.
Coeur d'Alene, he said, is well prepared for economic slowdowns because Jobs Plus, formed in 1987 to combat a downturn, has continued pressing the pedal of development and attracted 80 companies here.
Its success was such that there even came a point where some told Griffitts there was perhaps too much growth and suggested Jobs Plus stop what it was doing.
"We couldn't do that," he said. "We would not have been as prepared for where we are today."
As a result, North Idaho has gone from a resource-based economy dependent on lumber and mining to a diverse and expanding one marked by growth in medicine, finance and tourism.
"We have seen so much investment in our area," Griffitts said. "Not only financial investment, but intellectual investment."
A cornerstone of the area's success has been manufacturing.
He estimated companies that Jobs Plus has worked with have brought 1,600 jobs here, that in turn created another 6,600 jobs. The result? $200 million in personal income, $80 million in bank deposits, 112 more retail shops and $32 million in service receipts. The total financial impact has been $400 million, he said.
"That, my friends, is value," Griffitts said. "If you want to measure how we can move ourselves forward, it is by helping companies to expand or relocate in our area. They bring economic value that is measurable and significant."
Wally Adams, longtime Coeur d'Alene businessman, said economic growth is the mainstay of the community.
"I think the future bodes well for Coeur d'Alene. We can't miss," he said. "Along with spring, the economy will recover."
Ron Nilson, owner of Groundforce Manufacturing in Post Falls, said too many American companies have exported jobs overseas for cheap labor.
That's changing, he believes.
"I think the United States of America is still the No. 1 producer and there's companies around this country and they're saying, 'We're mad as hell and we're taking that business back.' We're one of those. We don't send anything out to another country. We should be doing it here."
He said Kootenai County can't survive on tourism.
"In an economic downturn like this, we better have a diversified economic base and manufacturing," Nilson said. "Now is the time to make a conscious decision that we're going to refocus on what built this country, which is manufacturing. We need to refocus our energy to get a skilled and trained workforce."
Kiki Miller also liked Griffitts' message.
"What was going on in the late '80s is very similar to what is going on here," she said. "We survived then, we'll survive now. Everybody has to dig in and improve."
Griffitts said difficult decisions were made when Jobs Plus formed 22 years ago with the goal to recruit businesses, without sacrificing the area's quality of life.
"It is our responsibility to be able to make those same decisions now as we go forward," he said.
His confidence that will happen is such that he plans to one day tell his grandchildren he was part of the economic turnaround in 2009.
"We have a lot of work to do. I am not shying away from that," he said. "But I understand and am fully aware of where we are. I am also fully aware and committed that where we are is not where we're going to be and that we all have the power, God-given, to move us forward."
Here is relevant info wrote on Mar 12, 2009 4:59 AM:
h ttp://patrick.n et/housing/crash.html "