SCENES FROM AN INTERVIEW
MAKING SARASOTA COUNTY
AN AMAZON
FOR BUSINESS
Mark Huey, President & CEO of the Economic Development Corporation
of Sarasota County
BY GUS US MOLLASIS
SARASOTA COUNTY IS KNOWN FOR ITS WORLDFAMOUS
RLDRTS.
BEACHES AND WORLD CLASS ARTS.
It is a haven for tourists of all ages who come
from many places, yearning for blue skies, warm
ome
arm
e.
weather, beautiful water and their slice of our paradise.
If that’s not enough, many national magazines and media
edia
outlets consistently rank Sarasota as a “top place to retire”ire”
or “one of the best places to live in the United States.”
.”
much so that MTV launched a successful TV show called
lled
Siesta Key, which is aimed at a viewing public who are not
exactly eligible for an AARP discount.
Sarasota is a diverse place. There are our snowbirds—folks
olks
who come here only during our “season”—usually late
October through April. Then there’s the rest of us birds who
who
call Sarasota home all year long. And as with every strong
ong
community, it is a place with a solid businesses scene that
continues to grow.
It is that continued business growth that is the hope
and charge of the man who heads up the Economic
ope
mic
Development Corporation of Sarasota County, President
and CEO Mark Huey.
As I entered the EDC building, the former hip home of the
HuB, I picked up and leafed through an EDC pamphlet with
Business Where You Want to LIVE!” “I came to Sarasota
County on vacation and didn’t want to leave so I moved
my business here.”
Other literature highlighted businesses from A to Z who’ve
made this area home. You’ll see names like Boars Head
Provisions; FCCI Insurance Group; Hoveround Corporation;
Ned Davis Research, Roper Industries; Sun Hydraulics
Corporation; Tervis; United Natural Foods; Voalte; and
Capgemini, just to name a few.
It piqued my interest. I couldn’t wait to learn about what
the EDC does. When did it start? What is it today and
what are the plans for tomorrow?
“We’ve been around in some form for generations,”
said Mark Huey. “The current version of the EDC was put
together in 2004, but essentially what we are is a big tent
MAY 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE 67