By Kevin T. Sheilley

   This past September marked 30 years of my work with chambers and economic development organizations and in January I celebrated my 27th year of leading these types of organizations. I consider myself incredibly fortunate and blessed to not only love what I do but to have “found my calling” so early. I do consider it a calling. I truly believe part of my purpose, part of the reason God put me on this earth, is to impact communities.

Growing up, I was constantly planning out “my city.” Literally, I had a three-inch binder that was overflowing with not only my sketched plans but list upon list of how my city ranked. Is it any surprise that I am today so enamored with following various rankings, lists, and data?!? I spent hours working, thinking, and researching about communities and growth. If you don’t believe me, just ask my twin sister. However, I had no idea any of that work could one day relate to a career.

After college, I went to work for a statewide gubernatorial campaign in Tennessee. While I enjoyed the work, it certainly did not pay well. Note—don’t believe everything you see on TV and movies upon campaign life. However, there was a plan. My candidate would win, and I would have a position in the new administration. While my candidate did win the primary, we all knew he was not going to win the general election. When my phone rang and a former college professor inquired if I would be interested in the communications job at the local chamber, I jumped at the chance. I had no idea what a chamber did, but it paid money!

However, I quickly discovered the Jackson (TN) Area Chamber of Commerce did the work of which I had always dreamed. They led the community’s economic development efforts and worked with the local school system and focused on transportation issues. This was my stuff! This is what I wanted to do for a career—I just never knew what it was called.

Fast forward now 30 years, and I have been doing work which I love. God willing, I will get to do this for another 18 years. (I would like to say 20 but my wife will kill me if I say that.) I have worked with incredible communities in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida. By the time you read this, I will have added my fourth state with South Carolina. However, there will always be only one Ocala.

For the last 12 years, Ocala has not only been where we work, but it has been where my family calls home. In fact, I think for two of my three children, Ocala will always be what they think of when discussing home. It is not hyperbole or trite for me to say we love Ocala.

I would offer two bits of advice. First, always remember that partnership is what has driven the incredible recovery, and now growth, this community has experienced over the last 12 years. Partnerships between the business community, local governments, and education providers. I would argue that no community in this state works as well together as this one. That is not to say that we always agree, but we find ways to partner to address the important issues.

Secondly, do not let anyone tell you Ocala is any less. This community takes a backseat to no one. Part of the Ocala charm and success has been to find uniquely Ocala ways to address our needs and challenges. We love coming up with our own approach, hearing the naysayers, and then smirking when our success becomes the one they all want to copy. Ocala can and Ocala will.

This is a place where things happen. At the CEP, the mission is to be the catalyst for a prosperous community, and this is becoming a more prosperous community by the day. As someone I greatly admire and respect is known to say, “Ocala = Opportunity.”

If you have lived in Ocala for more than a decade, then you probably know our community’s story of bouncing back from the Great Recession in 2007-08. If you are newer to the area since then (and more than 100,000 people have moved here over the last decade), it is important history to know.

In the early 2000’s, our community was truly a boomtown. Everyone was a builder, developer, or realtor and we were building and flipping houses like nobody’s business. Unfortunately, it was nobody’s business. No one was actually living in many of the houses, and we had stopped building a real economy to support the growth. When the Great Recession happened, arguably no community in our country was more negatively impacted than Ocala. Overnight, the County and School System lost 40% of their revenue, wages stagnated, and we began a period of seven years of double-digit unemployment. SEVEN YEARS! Continue reading →

Ocala, FL – December 9, 2024 – The Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership Foundation is excited to announce that it has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Papa John’s Foundation’s Building Community Fund. This funding will directly support the CEP’s Leadership Ocala Marion Youth (LOMY) program, helping to keep participation costs affordable while also providing scholarships to ensure access for all students.

LOMY is a county-wide program that brings together a diverse group of students from both public and private high schools in Marion County. Through a series of hands-on activities, leadership workshops, and community service projects, the program helps students build critical skills that will serve them throughout their lives. It also encourages participants to develop a shared commitment to the growth and advancement of their community. Continue reading →

When we talk about the local economy and what drives it, there are a few industries which immediately come to mind. We are the Horse Capital of the World® and know that equine plays a big part of the local economy. Others may think about how our community has become a major logistics center for the state and all of the new big box distribution centers which have been built near the interstate. Some may go to Ocala’s long-time role as a major manufacturing center, home to companies like Lockheed Martin, REV Fire – EONE, Pella, Cardinal Glass, etc. However, the sector that employs the most people and some of the highest wages is healthcare.

Regional Healthcare Center 

It might be easy for one to overlook the size and scale of the local healthcare industry. While one may look at Gainesville and see the significance of the industry there because of the near omnipresence of the University and UF Health, our market is different. Here we have three different yet significant healthcare providers who all have made and are making substantial investments. When combined these three providers are the backbone of arguably our largest economic driver. Continue reading →

If you have lived in Ocala for more than a decade, then you probably know our community’s story of bouncing back from the Great Recession in 2007-08. If you are newer to the area since then (and more than 100,000 people have moved here over the last decade), it is important history to know.

In the early 2000’s, our community was truly a boomtown. Everyone was a builder, developer, or realtor and we were building and flipping houses like nobody’s business. Unfortunately, it was nobody’s business. No one was actually living in many of the houses, and we had stopped building a real economy to support the growth. When the Great Recession happened, arguably no community in our country was more negatively impacted than Ocala. Overnight, the County and School System lost 40% of their revenue, wages stagnated, and we began a period of seven years of double-digit unemployment. SEVEN YEARS! Continue reading →

With all of the growth in the community, I am often asked about more retail options. We have seen thousands of houses and apartments built in the last few years and added millions of square feet of industrial space. However, I understand the interest of everyone in seeing new and additional retail options in our community.

Good news! More retail is on the way. In fact, I have been saying for some time that 2024 will be the Year of Retail in the Ocala Metro. It may not necessarily make as big a splash but when one looks back on the year, I think they will be surprised to realize how many additional retailers have opened. I would like to share about three new businesses opening soon: a retailer, a service, and a restaurant.

By mid-Oct ober lululemon will have opened their doors in Paddock Mall. The well known national athletic brand with more than 700 locations worldwide is best known for their yoga pants. The Ocala location will be the first in Florida between Jacksonville and Orlando. The store is opening in the JC Penny wing at the Paddock Mall which has a great story in itself. At a time when many have been proclaiming the death of the mall, the Paddock Mall is boasting near 100% occupancy with record visitors and sales per sq foot. The Mall is continuing to welcome new national retailers with more on the way. Continue reading →

For most people who do not call our state home, when they hear “Florida” they think vacation. In fact, many have suggested half in jest that instead of the Sunshine State our nickname should be the Tourist State. One of the reasons our state can have no state personal income tax or state property tax is because of the tens of millions of tourists who visit our beaches and theme parks. However, many would be surprised to learn that Florida’s first commercial tourist attraction was not at an oceanside community or near the big mouse, but here. In Ocala.

Silver Springs was Florida’s first commercial tourist attraction. Glass-bottom boats have wowed guests since 1878. Look at the sentence again. Visitors to the Springs have been riding on glass bottom boats for 146 years! Tourists began arriving by the thousands via steamboat and railroad to tour the must-see Springs. By 1962, more than 1.5 million guests a year visited Silver Springs and ranked as Florida’s most visited destination.

The arrival of Walt Disney World in 1971 began a period of rapid decline at Silver Springs. Blame the mouse, blame poor ownership, blame changing interests. Regardless of why, the park drew fewer and fewer tourists and was converted to a state park in 2013. From an economic perspective, tourism has not been a major driver in the local economy since the early 70’s. However, that is changing. Continue reading →

In 2015 the CEP commissioned an economic impact study of what it means, dollars and cents-wise, to be the Horse Capital. The data was both surprising and impactful. Equine contributes $2.6 billion annually to the local economy. That reflects not only the direct spin of the horse farms, shows, and support industries but also the thousands of tourists and guests who visit our community whether for a horse show, thoroughbred auction, or just to view the beautiful farms.

This past year, our friends at the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners Association updated that study and what an update! Today, the equine industry provides a $4.3 billion annual impact. Just as in 2015, the industry contributes approximately 1/5 of the area economy. As Ocala has grown, so has the industry. Perhaps one of the biggest new contributors to this impact is the growth in tourism especially in light of the opening and continual development of the World Equestrian Center.

Farmland Preservation

 The CEP is and will continue to be a strong promoter of our Farmland Preservation Area (FPA). Our partners at Horse Farms Forever take the lead in ensuring we can remain the Horse Capital of the World® for generations to come. Maintaining the nearly 200,000-acre FPA is important to us all. Continue reading →

We all know that the Ocala Metro is growing, we just have not known how much. Now we do! The new Census numbers for Metropolitan areas and counties recently were released and this area is growing even faster than we anticipated. For the period of 1 July 2022-30 June 2023, the Ocala Metro (Marion County) was the 4^th fastest growing metropolitan area in the nation! What does that mean? As of the cutoff date more than 9 months ago, the population of our community was just shy of 410,000 people. For comparison, the population at the 2020 Census was 376,000.

Of the 392 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the US, the Ocala Metro now ranks 134. In 2020, we ranked 148. Not only was our growth rate (3.4%) the 4^th highest, but we ranked 31^st for the highest quantity growth. In other words, while extremely large metros (Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix) may have much smaller growth rates, they could still add tens if not hundreds of thousands of new residents. The Ocala Metro still ranked 31^st in sheer numbers despite being smaller than any other metro ranked above it in this category. Continue reading →

As we enter this new year, the Ocala Metro has made a few national lists which are worth highlighting:

U-Haul

Every year, U-Haul unveils their Top 25 Cities for Growth. This list ranks cities based on one-way moves using U-Haul. While not entirely scientific, it is a great barometer of where people are moving. The Ocala Metro has made this list each of the last several years but this year ranks #2 following last year’s ranking as the top city where people are moving. This is important because of who moves using U-Haul – overwhelmingly, it is younger people. We know that 30-39 year olds in the Ocala Metro are growing at double the national average. This is a key demographic for workforce, home ownership, and families.

Housing

One of the best and most significant measures of the strength of the local economy is the housing market. 2023 was a record-year on several fronts. It marked the highest ever number of new single-family homes completed, and the 2^nd highest number of permits issued. Additionally, it was the 2^nd best year on record for the sale of existing homes. The Ocala Metro was one of only 3 Florida metros and one of only a handful nationwide that saw an increase in year-over-year sales of existing homes. Finally, 2023 saw the largest number of new Multi-Family developments to come online with the addition of approximately 2,000 units. Continue reading →