Sorry...just couldn't get into it.  I don't know the rules or the nuances of the game, so it just didn't interest me.  If the US had made the finals, I might have had the TV on in the background while I was doing something else at the house, but otherwise, I would just let the rest of the world cheer on our team.  If a sport doesn't have a basket or a set of uprights, I just can't get very excited about it.

With that being said, there is one part of the "idea" of futbol that I like.  It is a really big deal when there is a goal...because it doesn't happen very often.  Everyone gets really excited.  Coaches cry and bench players dance with just one scoring play.  It isn't like that in other sports where scoring is more prevalent.  In soccer, success is easily recognizable and quickly celebrated.

In economic development, we tend to do the same thing.  We quickly and loudly celebrate the "big deal" that comes to town and forget to celebrate the little successes that happen every day which truly drive our economy. 

In Enid, we can celebrate the $1.2 billion Koch Nitrogen Plant expansion or the $250 million Northstar Canola Plant, but sometimes we forget to celebrate Aircraft Structures International, Triangle Insurance Company, and Wymer Brownlee adding employees like they have been lately.  We forget to celebrate the growth of our local Jumbo Foods and the way they contribute philanthropically to our community every year.  And we forget a company like Over the Fence Farms that is less than a year old and is growing quickly by making food items in Enid's business incubator.  These are the little passes and steals that happen throughout the game that truly contribute to our success as a community.  On behalf of the Enid community, I would like to thank you for your investment in our community.

At the Enid Regional Development Alliance, we get celebrated the same way.  We get a lot of attention for our involvement in the big projects in Enid, but in the past year we have specifically assisted 79 new companies locating in Enid and 140 existing companies that are here today and growing.  Most of our time and energy is spent on the smaller deals that are making Enid a growing and thriving community.  You can read about some of these successes in ERDA's newly released Annual Report by clicking here.

Brent Kisling