March 2023 Newsletter

​Mayor's Tech Idea Exchange

​This month we partnered with the City of Menifee to host the Mayor’s Tech Idea Exchange at the City of Menifee City Hall. The event consisted of great conversations, moderated by EDC Executive Director, Connie Stopher, about how we can advance tech in the region. We thank our panelists: Lori Raymond of Tourmaline Enterprises, David Pearson of UCR, and Albert Fernandez, an aspiring entrepreneur. We would also like to thank our panelists from the City of Menifee: Major Bill Zimmerman, Councilwoman Lesa Sobek, and City Manager Armando G. Villa.

Last, but certainly not least, we would like to highlight Brookfield Properties for sponsoring our event. The event was an excellent launchpad for continuing to grow tech in our region.

 For those interested in tech in our region, please join us on April 4th for our monthly Tech Southwest meeting. To sign up, please click here: https://www.edcswca.com/techsouthwest.html.

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International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment

​Our Executive Director, Connie Stopher, had the honor of attending and speaking at the China (Inner Mongolia)-US (California) Import and Export Commodities (Online) Purchasing Fair. This was a huge opportunity to represent the region; over 650 representatives worldwide were in attendance.

As a result, Connie and the EDC were featured in two Chinese news publications. Those articles are available here and here. You should see a pop-up offering to translate the article.

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State Water Inspection Tour

Menifee City Manager, Armando Villa, and EDC Executive Director Connie Stopher

​We attended the Water Inspection Tour in Northern California last week. We want to thank EMWD, Metropolitan Water District, and LA Water District for organizing this event and allowing us to participate in the tour.

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Economic Development in the Region

​This past week while Connie was attending the Site Selectors Guild Annulal Conference, our marketing specialist Leah represented the EDC at the Kaiser Permanente Bean Signing and the KTM Grand Opening. This is such an exciting time for economic development in our region.

Thank you, Kaiser Permanente, for having us a part of your beam signing for the Wildomar Kaiser Permanent Expansion. We look forward to seeing the project come to fruition in the coming year.

We also want to thank KTM for having us at their grand opening celebration for their new North American Headquarters located in French Valley. This $53 million campus is the largest investment in Pierre Mobility's history, and we are so lucky to have it located right here in our region.

Congratulations to both Kaiser Permanente and KTM on their great success, and thank you for choosing to locate your business in our region.

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Site Selectors Guild

​We are wrapping up the month at Site Selectors Guild in San Antonio, Texas. Connie is part of a team of Californian economic developers at the conference. Site Selectors Guild aims to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and help Guild members, economic developers, and investment promotion professionals with their business recruitment efforts. Connie is looking forward to reporting on what she's learned and industry trends.

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April Board Meeting

Join us next Thursday for our April Board meeting. Members, if you would like to bring a guest, please have them sign up here:  https://www.edcswca.com/be-a-guest.html

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​Innovation Month

April is Innovation month for Riverside County’s Office of Economic Development. This is an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators to showcase their work. Innovation month is the largest collaboration of incubators and maker spaces. They will host the Southwest Riverside County Regional Fast Pitch on April 12th. To sign up and learn more about Innovation Month, click here: https://www.rivcoinnovation.org/innovation-month

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