Project Description

Boyette has worked with the Cherokee Office of Economic Development (COED) numerous times over the past seven years. One of the first projects completed was a White Collar Business Recruitment Strategy completed in 2009 that was designed to assist the COED in generating corporate interest by white-collar-type business for future location in the community. The second project, which was completed in 2011, was a workforce/labor analysis designed to: determine the labor shed for the county; identify and quantify labor availability in the area; determine skill sets, particularly related to white-collar jobs, of the existing workforce within the county and those that leave the county for work each day; and develop data to share with business prospects considering a location in the area.

The third and most recent project, which was delivered in 2015, was an economic development strategic plan for the county called the Opportunity Cherokee Plan. The plan was developed over a six-month period with the intent of providing guidance for the COED and other economic development partners in achieving even more economic development success over the next five years. Opportunity Cherokee was developed with input from 2,400 participants through individual interviews and group discussions and online surveys, including a resident survey, a survey targeted to the out-commuting workforce, one to small business/entrepreneurs, and another to employers. One of the main goals of the Opportunity Cherokee Plan is to create opportunities for Cherokee County to capitalize on its assets, becoming more than just a bedroom community of Atlanta, and to create job opportunities that result in more of the out-commuting workforce being able to both live and work in the county. The Opportunity Cherokee Plan provides a roadmap to guide the efforts of the COED in continuing to retain and grow its existing business and industry, as well as diversify its existing industry base to include not only manufacturing operations, but also corporate operations and information technology, as well as continuing to support the burgeoning film/digital media industry.