Success Stories

California has experienced its share of wildfires. Nothing, however, could prepare the Golden State for the devastation of the 2018 Camp Fire. The historic and unprecedented conflagration laid waste to a large section of mountainous and semi-rural Butte County, going down as the single most devastating fire disaster in state history.

With a population of just 11,000, the coastal community of Newport, Oregon has managed to establish itself as home to one of the richest seafaring traditions on the West Coast. It’s a destination spot for visitors from throughout the United States who come to see the town’s working waterfronts and maritime-based attractions, such as the Oregon Coast History Museum, historic Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, and notable restaurants and fish markets. Newport’s Oregon Coast Community College offers the nation’s only degree program in aquarium science. The city also serves as Pacific Fleet headquarters for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hosting Maritime Operations Center – Pacific and the survey vessels NOAAS Bell M. Shimada and NOOAS Rainier; since 2005, Newport has been designated an official Coast Guard City.

Helen Hayes once said that age is unimportant unless you’re a cheese. For the city of Willows, California, that adage also applies to cheese factories. In the mid-2010s, the town’s 100-year-old, family-owned cheese producer was on the cusp of relocating its operations to a new facility in a different area, a move necessitated by its increasingly antiquated factory. The potential loss of this major employer created economic uncertainty in the region.

Towanda is a small community in northern Pennsylvania, just a short drive from New York. It was founded in 1786 along the Susquehanna River, and by the 1800s, it was a thriving port for merchants. It was incorporated as a township in 1826 and is now home to more than 3,000 residents.

The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, isn’t your traditional museum. Leaders pride themselves in using unique, innovative methods to share history with visitors.

About 10 years ago, the city of Savanna, Illinois, faced two economic development hurdles.

The first was a three-quarter-mile, pot-holed-filled street, called Wacker Road, that rumbled as trucks passed a school and homes to get to industrial businesses. The second was a dilapidated wastewater treatment plant that was built so close to the Mississippi River that it flooded frequently and caused back-ups across the city.

The maritime history of the western U.S. was written at San Francisco’s Pier 70. From the California Gold Rush to Y2K, the most important ships to ply the Pacific were laid down at Pier 70’s shipyards, one of the best-preserved 19th century industrial complexes west of the Mississippi.

When the pandemic first began, Americans had a renewed appreciation for the trucking industry, bringing supplies and groceries to shelves across the country. Two years later, the need for qualified, commercial truck drivers has only increased, as America faces global supply chain issues. With support from the Economic Development Administration, one grantee is helping to fill that void.