We continue to work through one of the most challenging economic periods in our history and we will never be satisfied as long as Delawareans are out of work. But job growth here is outpacing the nation and we have reasons to be optimistic about our future.

This week in Seaford we cut the ribbon on a new plant for Grayling Industries, owned by ILC Dover, the Frederica-based business known for manufacturing spacesuits for NASA and protection equipment for our troops. They are moving 115 quality jobs from Mexico to our state.

In a global economy, ILC Dover and Grayling Industries had many choices of where to expand, and it chose to ship all 85 pieces of its production lines more than two thousand miles to Sussex County. Our Economic Development Office provided some financial assistance with the new facility, but grants like that are just one piece of our plan to attract the jobs we want, like the high tech positions at GE Aviation in Newark, the hundreds of jobs planned at a poultry plant in Millsboro or the thousands being created in our financial sector.

I’m holding a series of town hall meeting to address our economic efforts, which include educating a quality workforce, making business costs affordable and having a high quality of life in our state. I’m also hosting these events to hear your input and I hope you’ll join me at an upcoming town hall. You can find information at Delaware.gov. As analysts from the Federal Reserve have noted, our state is well positioned for decades of economic growth ahead. With a comprehensive plan that allows us to respond to job creators’ needs, we’ll keep Delaware moving forward.

Milton –  As a guest host for the Governor’s weekly message, filmed at Dogfish Head Brewery, Linda Parkowski, director of Delaware’s Tourism Office, discusses the importance of promoting the First State to tourists, while also supporting local businesses.

“Promoting tourism in Delaware is enhanced by our concentration of top-notch attractions including tax-free shopping, cleanest-in-the-nation beaches and magnificent museums,” said Parkowski. “But one of our fastest-growing attractions is the array of breweries, wineries and distilleries. By supporting their continued growth and encouraging visitors from across the country and around the world to come here and experience it themselves we’ll keep Delaware moving forward.”

Every Friday, the Governor’s office releases a new Weekly Message in video, audio, and transcript form. The message is available on:

YouTube: http://youtu.be/HsG3nTVyBPs
Delaware.Gov:  http://governor.delaware.gov/podcast_video.shtml
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 Transcript of the Governor’s Weekly Message: Tapping Local Businesses to Promote Delaware Tourism

Guest host: Linda Parkowski, director of Delaware’s Tourism Office.

Hi, I’m Linda Parkowski, director of Delaware’s Tourism Office. Our goal is to convince travelers to visit the First State – to shop, eat and stay with us. It’s a task with a big impact – adding $2.2 billion a year to our state’s economy and employing 39,000 people.

Promoting tourism in Delaware is enhanced by our concentration of top-notch attractions including tax-free shopping, cleanest-in-the-nation beaches and magnificent museums. But one of our fastest-growing attractions is the array of breweries, wineries and distilleries. With so much interest, we’ve come up with an easy and fun way to experience them all. The Delaware Wine & Ale Trail takes visitors on a tour of 12 wineries, brewpubs and breweries and is part of our assortment of tourist-friendly packages that include the History Trail, the Geocaching Trail and most recently, the Culinary Trail.

The success of these local artisans is due, in part, to their passion and creative spirit. And we work hard to help foster their success and boost the contributions they make to our economy. Just this week, Gov. Markell signed legislation giving these businesses greater capability to expand their operations inside and outside of the state, and allow brew-pubs to expand and enhance their product lines. In turn, we believe the contributions these craftspeople and small businesses make to the state will only increase.

By supporting their continued growth and encouraging visitors from across the country and around the world to come here and experience it themselves we’ll keep Delaware moving forward.

Bipartisan Group of Governors, Business Leaders Highlight Policies That Increase State Competitiveness

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Delaware Governor Jack Markell joined a bipartisan group of governors, local policy makers and business leaders today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2012 Jobs Summit to discuss policies that produce economic growth and examine how states across the country are increasing competitiveness.  A new study was unveiled at the summit, which finds that states that boost exports, foster innovation, provide businesses with certainty and reasonable taxes, insist on excellence in education, and prioritize infrastructure are leading on job creation and economic growth. The study, Enterprising States, was commissioned by the National Chamber Foundation and prepared by The Praxis Strategy Group.

“The federal government has something to learn from these enterprising states,” said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue. “If you want jobs and growth, you need to create an environment where private-sector businesses, entrepreneurs, and capital are welcome and can grow and thrive.”

The Enterprising States study ranks Delaware sixth in exports and sixth in infrastructure. The state is investing further in these strengths with its recently-created New Jobs Infrastructure fund for job-creating infrastructure projects and state-funded improvements to the Port of Wilmington. To support small and large business development, Governor Markell has called continued funding and replenishment of the Delaware Strategic Fund, the state’s main financing tool for business growth. Already rated ninth for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math or STEM jobs and fifth for technology business, Governor Markell created the STEM Council to help improve collaboration between business and educators.

“Our most important job remains helping to create jobs. To help people get back to work now and ensure our kids have real opportunities to succeed in the future, we need to stay focused on making our schools stronger, on helping our businesses compete and win, and on making government both more responsive and fiscally responsible,” Markell said. “I want to thank the national Chamber for highlighting some of the success we have had in Delaware and for their support of our efforts to help move our economy forward.”

Other governors participating in the Jobs Summit included Dave Heineman from Nebraska, Gary Herbert from Utah, and Scott Walker from Wisconsin.

“The governors we heard from today are on the front lines of our nation’s economic challenges, and they are producing the kinds of innovative policies that will drive growth and improve the future of their states,” said Margaret Spellings, president of the Chamber’s U.S. Forum for Policy Innovation. “Our Enterprising States study highlights specific policies and programs that states can undertake to foster growth—all driven by sound free enterprise principles.”

The Enterprising States study highlights specific strategies that all 50 states are employing to remain competitive and restore jobs. It also outlines the top ten future “boom states,” which are best positioned to grow, create jobs, and prosper in the coming years.

Governor Markell’s interview on the Jobs Summit on FreeEnterprise.com is available here.

The National Chamber Foundation (NCF), a non-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is dedicated to identifying and fostering public debate on emerging critical issues. They provide business and government leaders with insight and resources to address tomorrow’s challenges.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

Secretary of State Jeffrey W. Bullock has released the 2011 Annual Report for the Delaware Division of Corporations. 

Among the highlights of the report is that, at the end of 2011, there were over 945,000 active business entities in the state, a 4% increase from 2010. Overall new entity formation in 2011 grew 13% to 133,297.

Delaware remains the chosen home of more than half of all U.S. publicly traded companies, and 63% of the Fortune 500 companies are domiciled in the First State.

Read the entire report here.