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TEDC board votes Ford as new CEO 
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By Philip Jankowski The Taylor Economic Development Corporation's board of directors voted unanimously Wednesday to hire Jason Ford as the new CEO and president for the group. Ford will succeed current Executive Director John Nelson, who announced his retirement earlier this year. The board picked Ford as the sole finalist from a pool of 16 candidates and made him an offer, which he accepted Monday. His hiring did not become official until the board was able to convene and vote on the matter. While Ford's job title is different from Nelson's, the job is exactly the same. Changes in the bi-laws mandated the change, TEDC spokeswoman Judie Gustafson said. Ford, 35, has been a consultant for TEDC for five months. “I know in its hay-day (Taylor) was an economic powerhouse and it can be again,” he said. “I know that or I wouldn't be here.” His official start date will be April 1. Ford got his bachelor's degree in economics at Ole Miss and pursued a master's degree in geographic information systems and public affairs administration at the University of Texas at Dallas. Ford got his first taste working in economic development after landing a job at the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Foundation. Here, he said, he learned two sides of business - public relations and economic development. There, he moved up from an intern position to an assistant to the assistant director. “That really got me interested in the area of product development,” he said. Knowledge in product development helps in creationing a brand image and succinct marketing campaigns to market communities to prospective businesses, he said. His job in Mississippi was his first professional experience, but Ford's investment in economic development also has personal roots. As a child, his parents got a divorce, forcing his mother to raise eight children on her own. “It killed me watching my mom work three to four jobs while we were still on food stamps and free-lunch programs,” Ford said. Ford said this experience drives him to want to improve the level of prosperity of communities so that families in hardship do not have to go through what his family did. Before settling in Central Texas, Ford worked in the high-tech industry in the Dallas area during the dot-com boom. Despite his work in the private sector, Ford spent a lot of his time volunteering for various organizations in Plano. In Plano, he said, he learned his future should be in economic development where he could contribute to “something so much bigger than a desk.” The Internet boom eventually slowed in what Ford called the “dot bomb,” and he ventured to the Austin area, where he sought out the capital city's chamber of commerce. He joined the group just after it started its Opportunity Austin outreach program designed to bring businesses to Austin, and surrounding areas. Through this program and his work with Search Plus Texas, a consulting firm, Ford came into contact with John Nelson and the TEDC. “The board made an excellent choice,” Nelson said in a press release. “I ... was immediately impressed with his knowledge, his negotiation skills and his leadership ability.” Ford said Nelson has been a peer and mentor. “(Nelson) has always been willing to share his knowledge. He's very humble despite his academic credentials,” Ford said. Ford was hired on as a consultant to the TEDC in October 2007. Here he said he was most invigorated by working with city council, community leaders and businesses. “You can get answers and get them quickly,” Ford said. “ ... You could tell this was a well-coordinated team. It was well oiled, and it's only gotten smoother.” First on Ford's agenda is to become acquainted with community leaders and residents. His long-term goal is to make Taylor an “economic magnet,” which he said can be done by capitalizing on the city's low property value. The city administration's willingness to provide incentives for new businesses and the large workforce will also play a large role in moving the economy forward, he said.
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