TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

FHREDI's New Leader

ADVERTISEMENT

By BILL ROGERS

Highlands Today

Published: July 13, 2008

SEBRING - Jim Otterman likes to use kitchen appliances to describe economic development.

"Economic development is a slow-cooker; it's not a microwave," said Otterman, the new executive director of Florida's Heartland Rural Economic Development Initiative.

"I think there are those who would like it to be the microwave that we could just push the button and have 50,000 new jobs," he added. "That isn't the way it works. It's long term; it's not short term."

Otterman, 42, has just finished his second week on the job, and is trying to get around the sprawling region to introduce himself. The region includes Highlands, Hardee, Okeechobee, Glades, Hendry and DeSoto counties as well as the communities of Immokalee on Collier County and Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay in Palm Beach County.

"The biggest thing for me is in learning who everybody is within the region is so that we can better facilitate what they need as it pertains to what we're doing," Otterman said. "There are a lot of good people working for the same goal within the region.

"Even though I don't know all the players yet, I know that the people that I have been informed about everybody has the right intention, I think, with what they are doing," he added. "We just want to help further that along."

A native of Indiana, Otterman has lived in Florida since he was 6 and has been in Sebring for 30 years.

A 1984 graduate of Sebring High School, Otterman said he went into the real estate business right out of high school. His father was a Realtor, and Otterman said he always had an interest in it.

His 20-year career in real estate included sales, management and ownership. He owned Otterman School of Real Estate, which is no longer in operation, and Coldwell Banker Highlands Properties.

After selling Coldwell Banker Highlands Properties, Otterman said he took a year to explore what he wanted to do. He said at the end of the year he still didn't know, but started looking at different opportunities here.

"Real estate was very good to me," he said. "But it is a very demanding business. I had a 20-year run with very little time off."

Otterman, who was the president of the Sebring Chamber of Commerce in 1998, said the position with FHREDI has given him an opportunity to remain in the area and also "explore the world of economic development.

"I haven't been an executive director in this arena before, but my background and my experience is very adaptable to what I'm doing right now," he said. "I'm familiar with the territory, too, as opposed to somebody who may have been brought in from outside the area. I believe in the area."

The biggest surprise - so far - for Otterman was U.S. Sugar Corp.'s huge announcement last month about its plans to sell hundreds of acres of land to the state of Florida and close the company - eliminating a reported 1,700 jobs.

"I didn't know if it was for real or not," Otterman said of his initial reaction. "It was like wow.

"For the environmental side and to restore the Everglades, sounds like a win," he said. "But at the same time, and we look at it from the standpoint there is an economy there that has to be looked at it."
Otterman noted that the impact will be felt far outside of Hendry and Glades counties involving support businesses.

There are two other relative newcomers on the FHREDI staff - Michelle Phillips and Kelly Sweet.

Phillips is the tourism coordinator for Florida's Freshwater Frontier, which is the tourism arm of FHREDI. Her role is to help complement the efforts of the tourist development councils that exist in the region. The communities that don't have a tourist council Phillips "kind of helps fill that gap a little bit," Otterman said.

Sweet is the executive assistant and business development manager. She conducts business surveys to find out the needs of businesses in the region and refers them to other agencies such as Heartland Workforce.

Mary Freeman is public transportation coordinator.

Reporter Bill Rogers can be reached at 386-5825 or e-mail wrogers@highlandstoday.com

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT