By now most economic developers know that GIS WebTech’s delivery of cutting-edge technology disrupted a sleepy market for economic development GIS and has driven record growth for our company. Most know that technology is rapidly changing the way the economic development profession operates, and leading economic developers are using technology as a key lever to drive record results for their communities.
Yet the economic development profession has, historically, had no recognition of technology leadership. Several years back we created an award to recognize individuals whose technology leadership has advanced the profession.
It is with great pleasure that we announce Tommy Kurtz as the winner of the third annual GIS WebTech Award for Leadership in GIS Technology for Economic Development!
Tommy is a long-time leader in economic development in Louisiana and Texas, currently serving as Vice President at the Corpus Christi Regional EDC.
Tommy was among the first in the industry to see the potential of a complete GIS package for economic development.
Utilizing the integrated package of GIS WebTech plus supporting Esri tools, Tommy takes full advantage of the wealth of publicly-available data layers on the Esri platform to showcase information supporting CCREDC’s focus on industrial recruitment. These include layers highlighting wastewater mains, industrial districts, pipelines, and population movement into his four-county region. Tommy also integrates custom layers showcasing megasites ready for large industrial projects.
Tommy takes advantage of the incredibly flexibility of modern GIS to tailor his data to the needs of the particular prospect he is working with – turning specific layers on and off, highlighting certain data, and providing the information that best helps the particular company focus on the Corpus Christi region.
Tommy utilizes GIS technology in meetings and discussions with prospects, whether they take place in conference rooms in Asia or during site visits in Corpus Christi.
In addition, Tommy is dedicated to the economic development profession and involved heavily with the Texas Economic Development Council and other professional organizations. For these reasons, our entire team is pleased to name Tommy Kurtz the winner of our 2021 award!