Southwest Washington Food Hub Wins Prestigious Economic Development Award for Economic Response & Recovery We’re thrilled to share that the Southwest Washington Food Hub has been honored with the 2025 Economic Response & Recovery Award by the Washington Economic Development Association (WEDA)—a recognition that highlights the incredible innovation, resilience, and impact of this regionally [...]
Simply Organic Cafe & Catering Opens at Agriculture Innovation Park The excitement was palpable as Simply Organic Cafe & Catering celebrated its grand opening at the Agriculture Innovation Park on March 13 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that marked a new chapter for the beloved local business. Over the course of the weekend, the community [...]
Tall Grass, Big Impact: How Hexas is Growing the Future In the face of escalating environmental challenges, innovative solutions are imperative. Hexas Biomass, founded by Wendy Owens in May 2020, stands at the forefront of this innovation, offering sustainable, plant-based raw materials that serve as alternatives to wood, food crops for fuel, and fossil [...]
Thurston County Ranked Among Nation’s Best for Economic Growth and Equity Great news for our region—Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater have been recognized as the 8th best-performing economy in the nation, according to the Milken Institute’s 2025 Best-Performing Cities Report! This marks a climb from last year’s ranking at #9, reinforcing what many of us [...]
2024 Reflections and Opportunities In 2024, the combined programs and initiatives of the EDC and our Center for Business & Innovation made a significant impact on the local economy: $71.1 million in total economic impact 380 jobs created $25.9 million in total labor income generated Since 2019, our efforts have collectively resulted in: $997.2 [...]
HOW TO USE THIS TOOLKIT Below, you’ll find ready-to-use graphics and messaging to share with your stakeholders. It’s easy—copy and paste the text, right-click to save the graphics, and use them in your social media, newsletters, or local media outreach. Need more visuals? We’ve got you covered! Reach out to [email protected] for additional graphics. [...]
Request for Proposals: Brand Assessment and Rebranding Facilitation for Thurston EDC The Thurston Economic Development Council and its Center for Business & Innovation, collectively known as Thurston EDC, is seeking proposals from qualified branding and marketing firms to facilitate a comprehensive brand assessment and rebranding process. The selected firm will work closely with EDC’s [...]
2024 Olympia Minimum Wage Analysis In light of recent discussions around increasing the minimum wage in the City of Olympia, the EDC has conducted an in-depth analysis of the potential impacts. Here, you’ll find our analysis, both in summary form as well as the full, academic research analysis. Minimum Wage Increase Analysis Summary Minimum Wage [...]
STEDI: Driving Growth, Grants, and Festivities Across South Thurston County The South Thurston Economic Development Initiative (STEDI), launched in 2012 by the Thurston EDC Board, brings together over 24 county and regional organizations to drive growth, sustainability, and collaboration throughout South Thurston County. STEDI partners meet monthly to share resources and advance key initiatives [...]
Regional Ag Park to Open in Early 2025: A Hub for Local Business, Innovation and Community Growth! From the desk of Aslan Meade, Director of Strategic Alliances: It’s finally happening! The Southwest Washington Agricultural Innovation Park, also known as the "Tenino Ag Park," is set to open to the public in early 2025! This groundbreaking multi-tenant business [...]
