Marion County
Ocala, Fla.—Marion County’s number of new COVID-19 cases and new positivity rate both reached record highs last week, according to the most recent state report, released Friday.
Marion County reported 5,536 new cases for the week of Jan 7 to Jan. 13. That amount increased the county’s cumulative total of COVID-19 cases to 68,316. The positivity rate for the past week climbed to 31.3%. That was up from 24.6% for the previous week.
Those numbers repreent new weekly peaks for cases and the positivity rate since the onset of the pandemic.
Overall, the daily positivity rate for all new COVID-19 cases throughout Florida was 29.3%.
The state’s new report indicates 990 people in Marion County received vaccines between Jan. 7 and Jan. 13. That was a decrease of 52 vaccines from the previous week. The ratio of Marion County residents aged 5 or older who have been vaccinated remained at 62% during the latest reporting period.
“The increase we have seen this week is an indicator of how transmissible the virus is within our community,” said Department of Health in Marion County Administrator Mark Lander. “We encourage residents to consider a COVID vaccine if they have not received one, or a booster if they are eligible for that. Vaccines continue to be the most effective way to prevent serious illness or hospitalization from COVID-19 for people aged 5 or older.” Continue reading
Ocala, Fla. — Fort McCoy area residents will soon have opportunities to learn more about diabetes at a location close to them.
The Department of Health in Marion County, in partnership with the Marion County Hospital District, is holding free weekly classes on diabetes education and prevention at the Fort McCoy Public Library starting Jan. 19.
The Diabetes Empowerment and Education Program, or DEEP, is a series of classes that helps participants who have diabetes or are considered pre-diabetic better understand their condition and self-care.
Classes will cover topics such as understanding how diabetes affects the human body and how to monitor it. DEEP also includes instruction on the importance of a healthy, balanced diet, meal planning, and physical activity. Further, the classes will teach participants how to identify and prevent diabetic complications.
The six-week class begins on Jan. 19 and will occur each Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Feb. 23 at the public library in Fort McCoy (14660 NE County Road 315, Fort McCoy). Continue reading
I am not sure how one could view 2021 as anything but an incredibly successful year for businesses in the Ocala Metro. The CEP is excited to review how our community continues to grow, diversify, and prosper. This month and next I am going to highlight of the same important areas of growth.
Economic Growth
The local economy continues to demonstrate very strong fundamentals. As of the time of this writing, the local unemployment rate was only 4.7%. The Ocala Metro has consistently led the state in the growth of manufacturing jobs throughout the year with a manufacturing workforce now exceeding 10,000. Logistics, construction, hospitality, healthcare, and services all reported strong growth throughout the year. More importantly, the Ocala Metro is recording job growth while at the same time seeing wages report healthy gains.
Industrial Spec Development
One of the most significant changes in the local business community has been the planned investment by nearly a dozen companies in the area for industrial spec development projects that will add north of 7 million sq. ft. to the local market over the next 18 months. Why is this important? Not only will each of these facilities attract new companies and jobs, but just the investment in the facilities represents a capital investment of $700 million. As these facilities are added to the tax rolls in future years, that represents millions of dollars for local governments, our schools, and first responders. Millions of dollars in investment that benefit every citizen. Continue reading
The CEP was recently asked by Enterprise Florida to provide a column on why businesses should consider our community. I thought each of you might enjoy reading why businesses should choose our community.
If the Ocala Metro is not on your company’s search radar, it needs to be! Located at the crossroads of the Florida peninsula, the Ocala Metro is crossed by I-75 and is met by US Hwy 301 and just north of the Florida Turnpike. These intersections create the connectivity to service Florida’s 22 million and growing population as well as providing ease of access to lower Southeast United States.
Is logistics important to your business? The all important one-days truck drive (6-hours each way) reaches 34 million people when centered on Ocala. This is a 39% premium over the I-4 corridor and connects Atlanta to Miami. This is key logistical fact is a primary reason companies like Amazon, AutoZone, Chewy, FedEx Ground, McLane, and Dollar Tree have opened new distribution facilities in the area in just the last few years. Continue reading
Each month now for nearly 9 years I have provided this column predominantly about the CEP and the work we do. This month, I thought I would provide a little Q&A on the CEP for those who may not familiar with us.
What exactly is the CEP?
We are the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership or CEP for short. The CEP is the chamber and lead economic development organization for all of the Ocala Metro (Marion County). We do everything a traditional chamber does (but with a twist) along with leading efforts around Business Attraction (bringing new primary employers to the area), Business Retention (assisting existing businesses), and Business Creation (entrepreneurship). We have a staff of nearly 25 professionals who are working every day to deliver on these activities and help ensure this is a prosperous community for all of our residents. Continue reading
As I shared in last month’s column, I think our team at the CEP is second to none. They work incredibly hard to insure we are the catalyst for a prosperous community for everyone who calls the Ocala Metro home. A big part of having a great team is hiring incredible people.
Beth McCall Joins CEP Team
If there is such a thing as a homerun hire, Beth is the very definition. She joined the CEP team on 1 September as the new Director of Talent Development. In this role she will lead the CEP’s effort to engage businesses in our partnership with our education providers.
Beth is no stranger to Marion County Public Schools. She was elected in August 2016 as a member of the School Board. She served in that position until she moved out of District 2 and resigned the seat in June 2021. Continue reading
While summer is often a slower time for many businesses with people taking vacations and kids out of school, that is not the case at the CEP. If anything, this year the already crazy speed has gotten even faster. I would like to update you on a few recent awards and recognitions.
US News & World Reports Best Places List
The venerable US News & World Reports Annual “Best Places to Live” list was just released, and the Ocala Metro again placed very well. The list ranks the 150 largest metros in the nation on a series of data points and then provides ranking in several categories. For 2022, the Ocala Metro ranked: Continue reading
While summer is often a slower time for many businesses with people taking vacations and kids out of school, that is not the case at the CEP. If anything, this year the already crazy speed has gotten even faster. This month I would like to update you on a few recent awards, recognitions, and goals.
US News & World Reports Best Places List
The venerable US News & World Reports Annual “Best Places to Live” list was just released, and the Ocala Metro again placed very well. The list ranks the 150 largest metros in the nation on a series of data points and then provides ranking in several categories. For 2022, the Ocala Metro ranked:
- #4 Safest Metro
- #6 Fastest Growing Metro
- #6 Best Place to Retire
- #16 Best Small Metro
- #58 Overall
The purpose of the CEP is to be the One-Stop Shop and Voice of the Business Community. We are the designated economic development organization for all of the Ocala Metro. While many focus on our Business Attraction successes (bringing in new major employers like Amazon, Dollar Tree, and FedEx) or our Business Services programs (such as Business After Hours, TuesdayTalks, and Leadership Ocala Marion), it is our Business Retention and Business Creation efforts that really have the ability to impact the business community. This is especially true as we continue to go through a difficult crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Our Business Retention efforts are focused on assisting existing businesses throughout the community with a particular focus on primary employers (manufacturing, distribution, and large office). We work with approximately 200 businesses every year REGARDLESS of their partnership with the CEP. In other words, a business does not have to be a CEP partner to receive assistance. Much of this work is focused on removing barriers to their growth. Sometimes this means connecting them existing resources on the local, state, and federal level. Other times it means we are connecting them with other businesses to the benefit of both. Continue reading
Here at the CEP we are big believers in Manufacturing. We believe that we you make stuff, you make wealth.
Manufacturing is an important component to our local economy. We have a strong, diverse manufacturing sector locally. Companies in the metro make everything from fire engines to missile control systems, cake sprinkles to hurricane impact windows and everything in between. With more than 9,000 employees, the Ocala Metro manufacturing sector is one of the largest in Florida.
AdvisorSmith, a business consultancy, ranked the Ocala Metro as a top mid-sized metro (250,000 to 750,000) for manufacturing. The area ranked in the Top 20 of ALL metros for manufacturing output growth and for manufacturing employment growth. Additionally, the Ocala Metro has been ranked #1 or 2 in the growth of our manufacturing employment throughout 2021. Continue reading
