Editor's Notebook

Kathy Baylis likes to describe her job this way: partnerships, politics and public relations. By far, she says, the most important is partnerships with business, government, media and citizens. “Economic development is a team sport,” she says.

Baylis is retiring this month after 16 years of working in the field of economic development, the last seven as the CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota, an organization she helped grow out of the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, where the function used to be housed and where Baylis was a vice president and oversaw economic development.

Professional, efficient and unflappable, Baylis is the polar opposite of the flashy, ego-driven CEO who takes all the credit and requires the limelight. But her calm demeanor, work ethic  and ability to bring people with sometimes divergent interests together helped bring in 200 companies that have created 7,000 jobs during her tenure. Businesses may not see geographical boundaries, but counties, municipalities and organizations do, waging all sorts of turf battles that create barriers to economic development. As Baylis prepares to step down, she cautions her successor, Mark Huey, and business and government leaders not to lose sight of the value of collaborating with Manatee County, Tampa Bay, and soon, she hopes, Charlotte County.

Fortunately—and unfortunately—she says, our region has never had a major crisis to rally around. Many successful cities she’s visited have had to forge a common vision to overcome a calamity. “We don’t want to create a crisis, but we have to pull people together and get them to agree on priorities,” she says. To do that, she suggests the creation of a community leadership council.