Photos courtesy EDC, Visit Sarasota: Erin Silk, Erin Duggan

Leadership changes seem to come in waves in the region. In the past month, national searches resulted in internal choices to lead two of the area's prominent business organizations. Erin Silk now heads the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County and Erin Duggan will soon take the reins at Visit Sarasota County.

Perhaps inevitably, both also come on board at a time when conversations about the role of these organizations continue to evolve. For the past decade, the subjects of economic incentives and destination marketing — in particular the use of public dollars for such missions — has shifted significantly. It’s therefore quite possible both Silk and Duggan will need to convince government leaders their organizations are not only publicly justified but vital to the region.

This has drawn the most attention with Silk, who leads the organization just a few years after Sarasota County, once a robust supporter of directing tax dollars toward economic development, has seemed more shaky on the matter. Mark Huey, one of Silk’s predecessors, had a rocky relationship as new elected leaders took spots at the dais in the county. Silk follows Lisa Krouse in the role of president and CEO, and Krouse devoted much of her energy to improving relationships.

At the statewide level, the Florida Legislature, after years of threats, went ahead and defunded Enterprise Florida. That puts in place a climate where there’s less statewide cohesiveness and more regional competitiveness when it comes to economic development.

Silk doesn’t seem eager to talk about economic incentives, instead noting the region has plenty to offer without giving businesses cash rewards for relocating or expanding here. She does, however, believe a relationship between the EDC and local governments remains essential to business success.

“We're not just going to be a public-private partnership in name but in action,” she said. “For me, it is a real, strategic, competitive advantage for our community as we're attracting and keeping companies.”

When it comes to destination marketing, there’s also been efforts underway for years to slash Visit Florida’s funding, but that agency to date has survived. That means Duggan won’t have a statewide network stripped down at just the moment she’s set to lead her local organization. But there remains a climate in place where many question the need to market Sarasota as a region. After all, don’t the luxury hotels lining the coasts do plenty of that on their own?

Duggan, for her part, relishes the chance to explain the need for destination marketing organizations like Visit Sarasota. “This is, honestly, my favorite part of this job,” she said.

She explains the public funding in Visit Sarasota’s accounts can be used to promote the “right aspects of the destination to the right people at the right time.” She elaborates about scheduling sports tourneys in shoulder seasons, public conventions at off times and major business conferences during the expensive times.

The takeaway from my conversation with her was basically that hotels market to the easy customers, those desperate to spend money on a piece of paradise if they can find the right one. But Visit Sarasota helps attract tourists to those community assets that can’t market themselves, and they do it during those times of year when local cafes desperately want more butts in seats.

It's a sign of strength that both Visit Sarasota and the Sarasota EDC found new leaders in their own ranks. Silk worked at the EDC since 2019. Duggan has spent 2019 at Visit Sarasota. And both are charismatic and capable of making compelling cases. Hopefully, both are prepared to counter any existential threats to their organization’s existence.

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor of SRQ MEDIA.

Photos courtesy EDC, Visit Sarasota: Erin Silk, Erin Duggan