What is a certified entrepreneurial community? In the old days, the word “entrepreneur” conjured images of a rugged individualist burning the candle at both ends. “Certification” has a ring of hollow bureaucracy to it. The contradiction inherent in oxymoron is resoluble by identifying which word is the lie, so we’ll only give polite chuckles to the “entrepreneur” label.
The certification is described as “an assessment of the county’s resources, or a blueprint for how the county will seek economic development in the coming years.” It indicates a community has “the resources, leadership and strategic plan in place to truly say we are entrepreneurial-ready.”
Certification for Polk County took three years, and was pursued by a team of titled economic leaders.
Being certified as an entrepreneurial community means that Polk gets the permanent highways signage and will be included in a new CEC website. The county will be included in a co-op marketing campaign through Advantage West to attract new businesses. Polk will also be eligible for funding through grants.
What’s really warped here is that the “reality” is a logically-flawed abstraction, and what with nuts and bolts could be a pro-social economic engine is treated only as a polysyllabic catch phrase.
