The Best Moment of This Year’s IEDC Conference — And What This Job is Really About
There were a lot of great moments last week at the IEDC conference in Oklahoma City. Reuniting with old friends and beloved clients. Meeting colleagues and connecting with cool, creative economic developers from across the country. Brainstorming in person about big ideas. Thinking about innovation and what it means for the future of our industry and our company.
But the best moment of the conference, for me, didn’t happen in the exhibit hall or at a panel presentation.
The best moment, for me, is right here:
It’s the last night of the conference, and a small group of us are at a Laotian restaurant in Oklahoma City. This restaurant has just been named to the New York Times’ list of best new restaurants in the US earlier today, and we have no idea how we were able to get a table, but somehow, we did. We’re here.
Sitting around the table are people from Illinois, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Iowa. Some of us have known each other for years. Some of us have just met for the first time tonight. For many of us, it’s our first time trying Laotian food. We have just asked our server if we can forgo ordering altogether and entrust her to bring us anything on the menu we should try. She has agreed, encouraging us to eat with our hands and to try a little bit of everything, even if we’re not sure we’ll like it.
We’re all fully, totally in.
For the next hour, our table fills with the most beautiful, flavorful, herbaceous food. Fried chicken with fish sauce. Palm-size logs of sticky rice. Steamed catfish. Skewers of tender steak. Mushroom soup overflowing with fresh dill. Spicy chili sauce. Bright green scallions.
While we eat, we talk about the food, but when you talk about food, you’re really talking about place, so we’re also talking about where we live, and where we’ve been, and why.
We talk about places we love, and the idea of home, and how even being able to find a certain type of hot sauce can root you in a new city.
David, sitting across from me, lives in Peoria now but is originally from Ghana. He talks about how one of the rice entrees reminds him of his favorite Ghanian dish, and how much he loves cooking it for friends and family. Suddenly we’re planning a group road trip to Peoria. Tim is going to stop at the halal grocery store in Iowa City to buy goat meat on the way. We toast to new friends and new adventures.
Why was this such a meaningful moment (besides the fact that the mushroom soup was the best thing I’ve ever eaten)?
Because this experience perfectly encapsulates the heart of our work as economic developers.
This work is about facilitating connections between people from different places and backgrounds, making sure everyone feels a sense of belonging, excitement, and a stake in a shared future. It’s about bringing people to the table and being curious about each other. “Where are you from?” “What do you dream about?” “How can I help you bring it to life?”
It’s about the real-time feeling of forming a community. There’s no better feeling, and our work isn’t done until everyone knows that.
Is the dinner-as-economic-development metaphor a slight oversimplification of the job? Maybe. We didn’t attract any capital investment while we passed around the chicken wings, and we can’t report a firm ROI on our time together.
But let me tell you: in RoleCall’s work around the country, we have facilitated hundreds of conversations and focus groups about attracting, retaining, and engaging people. Our job is helping cities attract talent and giving new residents opportunities to thrive. That means figuring out ways to operationalize welcoming and community building. It means getting curious about the things that really matter when people are deciding where to live, and if they belong.
One of the questions we always ask people, whether they just moved to a place or have lived there for decades is, “When did you feel like this place was your home?”
The most common answer, by far?
“Someone invited me to dinner, and told me they were glad I was there.”
Want to talk more about any of this stuff? We’d love that too. Grab a meeting time with us below!