Cochise County Business Link Exchange Opportunity

Image by Ken Lund via Flickr

Do you own or work for a business in Cochise County, AZ?  Do you work for a non-profit organization that serves the citizens and/or promotes the economic development in Cochise County?

If you answered "yes" to either question, then the Southeast Arizona Economic Development Group would be honored to link to your Cochise County business' website and to have you link to us.

If you take a few minutes to visit our site, you will notice that throughout the site we discuss many businesses and we specifically link to a number of them on our resources page and on our partners' page.  We established these links to be of service to our partners and our local community businesses; however, obtaining reciprocal links will help more people find our website and in turn learn more about our Cochise County and living and doing business in Southeast Arizona.

There are three ways to link your website to ours; you can select which is more convenient for you:

1. If you have a Resources or Links page on your website, simply add a link to http://www.saedg.org. If you like to display a description, then this statement or a portion of it will work nicely: "Southeast Arizona Economic Development Group’s purpose is to responsibly develop and expand the economy of Cochise County and to work with existing and prospective business-owners and other stakeholders."
2. If your website is designed to display logos of local civic organizations or associations, you can visit our Link To Us page and ask your webmaster to copy and paste the appropriate html code on to your website. 
3. If you are not quite sure how to add a link to your site, but you would like us create a reciprocal link, then complete our on-line Contact Us form and select "Link request" from the drop down box. We will get in touch with you.

We look forward to hearing from you. Let us know how we can help.

Rosemont Copper Mine Project

I want to talk to you today about the Rosemont Mine project, jobs, and this community we call Benson.

I think we can all agree Benson is a good place to live. I think we can all agree we need more jobs, more opportunities, and renewed economic development.

What we may not all agree on is the best way to accomplish this and that disagreement is evident among certain circles when we talk about the planned Rosemont Mine project  on the Sonoita highway south of Tucson.

Let me state unequivocally: Rosemont will be an immense benefit for the roughly 18,000 people who live in Northwest Cochise County.

Consider these factors:

• Job creation: Approximately 1,600 jobs will be created initially, and after the start-up period of 18 months, more jobs will eventually support as many as 406 families for a generation to come.

• Average salary - $59,000 annually. Compare that to an average salary of $38,000 in our part of Cochise County.

• Rosemont will provide $15 billion in local revenue over the life of the mine. Tax Revenue will be $404 million in local taxes over the life of the mine.

• Proximity and accessibility: Rosemont is a 35-minute drive from Benson, most of it on I-10. That makes it attractive not only to people living here who might be employed by Rosemont, but to people who will come to the area seeking jobs, housing, and a lifestyle measurably better than that found in the Tucson metro area. We need to aggressively promote Benson and the surrounding area to those potential residents who will have good incomes and stable employment.

Let’s get back to what we can all agree on. We can all agree that times are tough in Benson. There’s a 50 percent vacancy rate in commercial property here and our housing market continues to struggle. Once operating, Rosemont’s economic benefits will spread to local contractors and what’s known as ‘spin-off” businesses that are established to support operations. The Benson City Council realized this early on; we were one of the first incorporated cities to unanimously pass a resolution of support for Rosemont.

When I served as Mayor of Benson I encouraged difference of opinion. Public discourse is one of the strengths of our community and indeed, our nation - and debate clarifies the issues. However, there are some in the area who want to preserve their own piece of the pie no matter the cost to the community and there are those who will always object to any and all progress. To them I say, open your minds and think about the long-term good of your community.

The Southeast Arizona Economic Development Group (SAEDG) is a nonprofit organization working to promote new opportunities for our area. As Director, and with the help of the SAEDG board, we will promote the conviction we have that the Rosemont mine will be a boon to the local economy and improve the standard of living for us all. Please take a moment to visit Rosemont Copper's website, learn more about the project, and support the opportunities it promises to bring.

Sincerely,
George Scott
Director, Southeast Arizona Economic Development Group

Benson Business Forum June 22, 2011

Click on Poster to Enlarge!

SAEDG is hosting a Business Community Forum on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. In order to give everyone an opportunity to attend there will be two meetings: 11:00AM- 12:30PM and 5:30PM- 6:30PM. These Business Forums are sponsored by Arizona's G & T Cooperative, the City of Benson and San Pedro Valley Chamber of Commerce.



Geoff Oldfather, Board Member

Each forum will be moderated by SAEDG Board Member Geoff Oldfather.  Plan to join us at the Benson City Hall, 120 W. 6th Street, Benson, AZ.

If you need more information please call the Chamber of Commerce 520-586-2842, SAEDG 520-265-6058 or the City of Benson 520-586-4293.

We look forward to seeing you!