Click here to subscribe today or Login.
WILKES-BARRE — Talking to a big shot at Chewy.com the other day got me to thinking — again.
Everything Gregg Walsh, vice president of Human Resources Operations for Chewy in Florida, said was exactly what many have been saying about Northeastern Pennsylvania for years.
We have a great pool of workers who possess a great work ethic, and they want to better themselves so their families will have a better life. And NEPA is a great location, logistically speaking, close to major metropolitan areas, plus an extensive network of highways and an international airport.
And we have a great educational system, reasonably low crime rate, plenty of recreational outlets and the joy of four separate and distinct seasons. I know it’s been cold lately. But hey, we have snow to ski on, water to swim and fish in, stadiums and arenas, performing arts centers, trees, mountains, valleys, lakes and a river runs through the middle.
And we have history, lots of history. Plus great restaurants and the best pizza anywhere. I know because I have had pizza in places like Florida and California and ours is the best.
So it is easy, at least for me, to understand why Chewy decided to locate its largest fulfillment center in our area, bringing 1,000 new jobs with it. That is darn good news. It sure put a heckuva dent in our unemployment numbers.
So thanks Chewy, I say, and why not more companies.
A few months back, John Augustine, president/CEO of Penn’s Northeast, gave a detailed presentation on the cooperative effort that produced a 100-page response to Amazon’s request for location proposals. Whether or not Amazon HQ2 comes to Northeastern Pennsylvania, the determined bid to lure the company has perhaps set the tone for all future economic development.
Augustine’s comprehensive regional proposal detailed why NEPA is the “prime location for HQ2.” The proposal was one of 238 submitted to Amazon by those in search of the coveted project.
HQ2 will be Amazon’s second headquarters in North America — the first is in Seattle — and the retail giant is expected to invest over $5 billion in construction and grow its second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs. In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of HQ2 is expected to create tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.
To that I say on behalf of NEPA, why not Amazon HQ2?
OK, maybe we aren’t the favorite in this quest to be Amazon’s choice— but maybe we should be, darn it.
I hope Amazon’s decision-makers take the time to seriously review our proposal and give serious consideration to NEPA.
But it can’t be denied that Augustine and his team knocked it out of the park with their regional approach to economic development — embracing the concept of all-for-one and one-for-all being in everyone’s economic best interests.
Augustine said the work on the Amazon bid created a new series of partnerships — between competing colleges and universities, between rival communities, between industry and academia — and a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem was built from the ground up.
In the proposal, Augustine said the area offers a lot for businesses like Amazon to consider:
• A talent pipeline fueled by 19 different higher education institutions that together account for more than 40,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
• Ample opportunities for creative partnerships with colleges, universities, and K-12 educational systems.
• A labor force renowned for its productivity.
• Superb proximity to New York City, New England and other major markets.
• A location adjoining the world’s second-largest natural gas resource.
• A low cost of doing business, combined with a high quality of life built around immediate access to the great outdoors.
Can you, as a resident of this great region, see the truth in all of that? For way too many years, the biggest problem this area has had is that its people all too often apologize when having to admit where they hail from.
I’m with Augustine and his team on this. NEPA is a great place to locate a business, a corporation, even Amazon HQ2.
Chewy on that for a while.
