The McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the McKinney Chamber of Commerce will begin polling local business owners for their opinions about McKinney as a place to do business.

“Understanding the needs of our existing businesses is the first step in helping them grow,” said Chamber President Jodi Ann LaFreniere. “Given the current global economic climate, this is an appropriate time to receive input from our area businesses in regard to their challenges and priorities.This input will help shape our initiatives with regard to business growth and development.”

“Existing businesses are the cornerstone of our economy,” said Greg Sims, MEDC’s Director of Business Retention and Expansion Program. “The information we receive will be a good starter on identifying and solving real issues facing the McKinney business community.” 

The short questionnaire was designed to be brief. “We recognize that our business owners have very limited time, and we want them to know we recognize that,” Sims added.

The MEDC will begin launching the McKinney Business Opinion Questionnaire the second week in February. The MEDC will follow up with phone calls and “face to face” meetings with the business community to gather as much data as possible by March 31.

For more information, contact Sims at 972.562.5430 or Becky Horn, the Chamber’s Director of Public Policy and Business Development, at 972.542.0163.

About McKinney: McKinney has been one of the top fastest growing cities in the nation since 2000 and has a current population of 125,000.  In 2008, McKinney ranked in the top 100 wealthiest cities in the nation by American Business Journals and was listed in Money Magazine’s top 15 “Best Places to Live.”

About MEDC:  McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) works to identify, attract and retain companies that diversify and expand the local tax base through job creation and wage growth. Since it was established in 1993, MEDC has invested in over 100 projects equaling more than $1 billion of taxable value.