The Business of Growth. When we first selected this theme, some members of the staff and the board thought we were intending to write articles either defending or criticizing “overdevelopment”. Instead, we had to make it clear that our focus would be on economic growth and opportunity. Which is to say, “business growth”.

Clearly there are businesses that focus on residential development which is necessary and can be conducted “responsibly”. But our focus with this issue of EVOLVE is the type of growth that derives from commercial and industrial investments. The type of growth that yields new jobs and a higher median wage. The type of growth that grows the commercial and industrial tax base faster than the residential tax base. We also wanted to focus on what business owners and entrepreneurs were doing to grow their businesses.

I personally had the pleasure of interviewing elected officials in three of our counties and the president of JAXUSA Partnership, the economic development organization for Northeast Florida. I summarized those interviews in the article entitled “Is Growth Good for Our Communities?”. When asked if economic growth was a priority, they all said yes. In fact, they said it was ‘essential’ to our communities while agreeing that not everyone realizes nor shares that view. Quite a bit more needs to be said on this subject so stay tuned.

On a different note, we are launching a subscription campaign with this issue. We have been mailing printed copies since our First Coast Edition launched in October 2021. Unfortunately, our paper costs have increased 67% since that time and we can no longer mail the magazine at no cost to readers. Single quarterly editions remain at $6.95 per issue and we are now offering an annual subscription for $20.00. Digital content will remain free at this time.

If you enjoy our business focus and content, please subscribe to either the free digital version or the paid print version.

Our goal remains to “Shine a light on success”. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

All the best,

Howard M. Holley
CEO and Publisher