Mission possible for new Team Volusia CEO Helen Cauthen: Help grow the county

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Photos and story submitted by contributing writer Dale Smith / Volusia County Councilwoman Pat Northey presents Team Volusia Economic Development Corp. CEO Helen Cauthen with a ceremonial Volusia County pin Thursday during the council meeting to "officially" welcome her as the new business recruiter at an annual base salary of $125,000.

DELAND --  Just one month into her job, new Team Volusia Economic Development Corp. CEO, Helen Cauthen, has been a very busy woman.

Since begining her new duties on Jan. 3, Cauthen  has attended so many functions and one-on-one meetings with county and city officials she hardly has had time to unpack. In fact, she's still waiting on office furniture in her Daytona Beach office.

"It was a hectic month," she told NSBNews.net before today's Volusia County Council meeting in DeLand. "I'm getting settled in and going around the county meeting everyone."

Asked for a business card, Cauthen only smiled and apologized with "sorry." Like the furniture, they haven't yet arrived.

The newly formed Team Volusia Economic Development Corp. chose Cauthen as its CEO following a nationwide search in December. Cauthen is the former vice president of the Greensboro (N.C.) Economic Development Alliance. Cauthen's main role will be to help shape the organization, which launched last August as a public-private partnership with a mission to coordinate efforts throughout Volusia County to recruit and retain employers that can create high-paying jobs.

Cauthen signed a three-year contract that includes a $125,000 annual salary and up to $10,000 a year in additional performance-based pay if she meets certain benchmarks. County council members officially welcomed Cauthen to the county, bringing praise from County Council Chairman Frank Bruno.

"With you, you bring in our best bet for economic development," said Bruno, fresh off of his state of the county address Monday at theOcean Center where he stressed economic development and jobs creation are top priorities.

Other members echoed the chairman's assessment of Cauthen, with Vice Chairwoman Pat Northey letting  Cauthen now she has her full support.

"I'm excited to work with you," Northey said. She praised Cauthen's level of involvement so early on, meeting and greeting around the county."

At-large member Joyce Cusack said she was eager and ready to bring new jobs to the county, welcoming Cauthen  with a clearly stated expectation: "Thank you for what you will do to (help) grow the county," 

District 3 Councilwoman Joie Alexander, whose seat represents greater New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange,  said she was pleased Cauthen has hit the ground running since Day 1 and reinforcing Cusack's challenge by saying: "We look forward to great things ahead."

Cauthen, who is also a certified economic developer, told council members her goals were their goals and would work hard to bring jobs to the county as she did in North Carolina. She said Volusia County shares similarities with Guilford County in North Carolina, which the Greensboro alliance represents, including demographics, size of population and work force.

Cauthen said she has several more meetings she will attend, including Friday morning's Volusia County Economic Development Fourth Quarter 2010 Update scheduled at the Daytona International Airport.

Here is a time line of parameters set for Helen Cauthen to follow that is mandated by the County Council: 

►Develop and present to the board an acceptable written program of work on or before March 1 and present a balanced budget for Team Volusia for 2011 by that date.
 
►Research and recommend a vendor to develop a website for Team Volusia by March 1.
►Test and launch a website by Sept. 1, or a date agreed to by the website developer.
►Develop and present a plan for retaining and expanding area businesses by May 1.
►Prepare and disseminate quarterly and annual reports to Team Volusia's public and private investors.
►Conduct at least 45 visits to existing area businesses throughout Volusia County, including a reasonable number of businesses in each part of the county, by Dec. 31.
►Develop and present recommendations of economic and business clusters that Team Volusia should focus its recruitment efforts on by Sept.1; create and present a marketing plan for Team Volusia by that date.
►Develop and present a plan by Nov. 1 for securing private investors needed to fund Team Volusia's operations in its second and third fiscal years.
►Collect sufficient funds to meet Team Volusia's budgeted expenses; retain all government and private investors who have committee support before today; develop a plan to increase funding support from the private sector to 51 percent of Team Volusia's total funding.
►Generate or participate in responding to a "reasonable number" of inquiries from businesses seeking a new location for their business within Volusia County, with that number to be determined by July 1 by Team Volusia's executive committee.
►Promote Team Volusia's mission to business and governmental sectors throughout the county.
SOURCE: Team Volusia Economic Development Corp.

At a glance: Helen M. Cauthen

AGE: 50

POSITION: CEO, Team Volusia Economic Development Corp.

CAREER  Vice president, Greensboro (N.C.) Economic Development Alliance, 2003-2010;

development manager, The Valley Hospital Foundation, Ridgewood, N.J., 2000-2002;

development director, Quality New Jersey, Trenton, N.J., 1998-2000;

director, Center for Quality Management, Louisville, Ky., 1996-1997;

manager, Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce, Louisville, Ky., 1989-1996. 

COLLEGE: B.S., Business Administration, University of Missouri

FAMILY: husband, Jim; daughter, 19, and son, 17.

About the contributing writer:

Dale Smith is a resident of New Smyrna Beach, who has reported on local news in Volusia County since October 2009.  His writing background includes a mix of journalism and public relations in several community newspapers and a p.r. firm in northern Virginia. He attended Barton Academy in Barton, Vt., and the Cambridge (Mass.) School of Broadcasting for radio & TV broadcasting.