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Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will lead a trade mission of business leaders to Israel on Wednesday to promote investment in Central Florida.
The trip was organized by the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission. That agency is paying the travel expenses of Dyer and his chief of staff, Frank Billingsley, who until recently was the city’s economic development director.
Dyer and 10 other members of the delegation will meet with representatives of the defense, airline, life sciences, simulation and energy industries. They hope to forge relationships with companies in Israel that lead to investment in Orlando.
“They’re a natural trading partner, and they have great expertise in a lot of the things we’re attempting to develop or are in the midst of developing: the medical city, the modeling, training and simulation industry,” Dyer said. “Those are the areas we’ll be focused on.”
The Metro Orlando EDC, which helps businesses expand or relocate here, receives about 37 percent of its funding from Orlando and Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties. Orlando contributed $342,232 this year. The rest comes from area businesses.
Other participants are paying their own way, at $7,550 each. They include representatives of Florida Hospital, Harris Corp., the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and Lake Nona, where the medical city is located.
“The preponderance of participants are from the life science, defense and simulation industries,” said Maureen Brockman, the EDC’s vice president of marketing and communications. “Those are significant industries in Central Florida, and they’re also a significant focus in Israel.”
Thomas Baptiste is attending as executive director of the National Center for Simulation based at Central Florida Research Park. The retired Air Force lieutenant general hopes to convince Israeli simulation companies to have a presence in Orlando.
“The message I’ll be bringing is that there is opportunity here. This is where modeling and simulation happens in the United States,” Baptiste said. “Everybody knows Orlando is a destination for Mickey Mouse and tourism, but we’ve got some really exciting, high-tech things going on here that make us even more attractive.”
Last month, Dyer was part of a group of Orlando Magic staffers, Orlando police and transportation officials, and Orange County deputies who traveled to Los Angeles for the NBA All-Star Game. The game will be in Orlando, and the locals said they needed to learn about the preparations and logistics of holding the event.
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Article from Orlando Sentinel – http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-dyer-edc-israel-trip-20110315…
