A Time to Thrive | Redmond Economic Development Inc.
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A Time to Thrive

A Time to Thrive

At the cross section of Highland Avenue and North Highway 97 in Redmond a prominent structure titled “The future of Flight” stands to remind Redmondites and it’s visitors, there are times to reap and a time to sew, a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to tear down and a time to build; a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to search and a time to give up, and more. Redmond has been through many times of uprooting and times of planting. No matter which direction you see the wind blowing this structure, there is a time to thrive.

Whether we are in prosperous times or in challenging times, both circumstances allow us the opportunity to overcome trials and triumphs for the city we live, work, and play in. REDI’s mission is to build prosperity through business and community development. We couldn’t accomplish this work without citizens, and collaborative partners in Redmond and central Oregon.

Through its strategic planning committee and its sponsor, Columbia Bank, REDI wanted to publicly recognize individuals, partnerships or organizations who contribute to building the community through collaborations which support economic development. Thus, the Thrive Award was created.

This last year through the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many groups that persisted to keep economic development progressing in areas the city needed it most. Redmond has seen growing pains to provide solutions to labor and workforce, housing, and childcare and even keeping businesses open when cities across the nation shut down to slow the spread of a highly contagious virus.

The Thrive Award aims to recognize and award significant initiatives, programs, projects, or partnerships when successfully implemented noticeably change the landscape which further supports economic development in the Redmond Community. REDI considered four honorable collaborations which have supported a thriving community in the last year.

  • RPA Childcare  - To meet increasing demand for childcare and to provide child cares lots for its employees, RPA introduced Learn & Play,  a solution to  assist with preschool and infant and toddler child care while providing education in early childhood learning to its students. For more information, contact Child Care Director, Brook Bremont at Learn & Play.
  • Skyline Village – This initiative started as a statewide pilot project which resulted in a legislative bill to include Redmond. The bill provided a holiday on certain land-use requirements to expedite annexation into the city. Deschutes County collaborated by donating 40 acres of land to create an affordable housing area in Northwest Redmond. Read more here:
     
  • NeighborImpact – Another group seeing a need for childcare, NeighborImpact Childcare Resources secured a grant which enabled them to hire a Business Coach Educator. This Business Coach Specialist provides high-quality coaching to childcare business owners and entrepreneurs. For some in the childcare industry or who want to get started, this resource is a place to go for assistance in accounting/financial, operations, marketing and tactical/strategic planning for existing and new childcare businesses. Learn more about Neighbor Impact’s childcare resources here
  • Redmond Rallies – This grassroots, behind-the-scenes effort was collaboration between the Redmond Chamber and The City of Redmond to support ailing businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep Redmond open, Redmond Rallies aided businesses in filling out grant and federal funding requests, collectively called and talked with businesses across multiple sectors to assess needs and handed out PPE (personal protective equipment) supplies. Find more details here

To introduce this inaugural award, REDI surveyed these four groups among the following six criteria. Each score ranged on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the highest in each category)

  • Benefit to the community
  • Spin-off of impact
  • Creativity and innovation
  • Achievement and results of stated goals
  • Relationship and community support
  • Relevance and transferability of elements to other communities
     

At the recent Made In Redmond Tour, REDI presented the first recipient of the Thrive Award to Redmond Rallies for its biggest impact in ways of maintaining economic development to keep businesses open in the safest way possible during the COVID Shutdown. The resilient way this community comes together in good times and in bad is something all citizens of the region can be very proud of and that is what will keep Redmond thriving.

For more information about the work we do at REDI, visit us at rediinfo.com and on Facebook and LinkedIn.