Texas Border Business
This past November, COSTEP, Council for South Texas Economic Progress, visited Austin to meet with State Partners and advance its mission of promoting regional economic development for the Rio South Texas Region.Adam Gonzalez, CEO of COSTEP/RSTEF, Rick Carrera, COSTEP Director of Economic Development, and Rafael Tapia, RSTEF Grant Manager, met with staff from the Texas Economic Development Corporation and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development & Tourism.
As part of their visit, the COSTEP team met with the Texas Economic Development Corporation office where they had a chance to visit with Aaron Demerson, President & CEO, and Dale Robertson, Vice President of Business Development. 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. Through a robust program of national and international investment attraction missions, industry events, media relations, advertising, and other signature initiatives, TxEDC spreads the word of Texas’ business advantages among a target audience of corporate decision-makers and site selection consultants. The organization is made possible through the support of a broad range of organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and privately held enterprises throughout the state. COSTEP is among these TxEDC investors. A partnership that has allowed COSTEP to voiceregional concerns at the state level and promote the region internationally.
The main focus of the trip was to meet with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development & Tourism. The COSTEP team was able to meet with Sean Ferguson, Project Development Team Lead, and the rest of the Project Coordination/Business Development team. The group responsible for sending out Texas RFIs when companies are interested in locating to Texas. COSTEP was interested in learning about the RFI development process and best practices when responding to an RFI. During the meeting, the group was joined by Larry McManus, Director of Business & Community Development, who provided valuable information to the COSTEP group and led to a discussion about future collaborations to increase regional responses to state leads.
The COSTEP team ended its day trip to Austin by attending the Texas Secretary of State reception for the Japanese delegation with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). An invitation by TxEDC, the COSTEP team was able to visit with members of the delegation and create some valuable connections.
Special thanks to Matt Ruszczak, Legislative Director for the Office of Representative Ryan Guillen. A familiar face to regional economic development in the Rio South Texas region, Matt served as Executive Director for the Rio South Texas Economic Council (RSTEC) before joining COSTEP as Economic Development Director. Though unscheduled, Matt provided us with a moment of his time to visit with the COSTEP team and talk shop.
COSTEP, the Council for South Texas Economic Progress is a nongovernmental organization advocating regional economic development for the seven-county region of Rio South Texas. Servicing the counties of Willacy, Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Jim Hogg, Zapata, and Webb. COSTEP focuses on business recruitment services and provides regional market data to host site selector tours, regional familiarization tours, and area economic development enrichment sessions. To learn more about how you can support our work visit COSTEP.org or contact Adam Gonzalez at agonzalez@costep.org.
