On Wednesday, the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) hosted its annual “State of the Economy” event, touting the steady growth that has occurred in the city over the past year.

Mayor Ginger Nelson delivered opening remarks, praising lawmakers’ efforts in approving the Interstate 27 expansion project and its future impact on the city of Amarillo.

“It’s a huge domino to fall in love with us,” Nelson said. “We have been working for decades for this big step.”

Nelson said the economic potential this project will create will be substantial for Amarillo and the entire Panhandle. She also praised the city’s leadership efforts to bring new businesses to Amarillo.

“It’s a peak season and a growth opportunity for our city,” Nelson said. “That’s not true for every city in Texas.”

Headlining the AEDC event as keynote speaker was Dr. Anne Macy, professor of finance at West Texas A&M. Macy began her speech by asking the crowd about their level of happiness and relating it to their relationship to the state of the economy.

Macy spoke about the effect COVID-19 has had on the economy, but touted the return to economic growth as the effects wore off.

“Coming out of COVID-19 right now, we’re doing well,” Macy said. “If you look at consumer confidence nationally with what it is, I think Amarillo is in a good place. We have a lot of good elements in place in this community.

During the presentation, AEDC President Kevin Carter highlighted that the City of Amarillo has the potential to achieve significant economic growth in 2021 as it emerges from the pandemic.

“We are the only city over 50,000 with 20 months of continuous sales tax growth. It’s a huge indication of how our economy is doing,” Carter said.

According to the AEDC, Amarillo collected $91,925,630 in sales taxes and $8,717,588 in hotel/motel taxes in 2021.

Carter spoke at length during the presentation of six major economic projects that AEDC was able to bring to Amarillo.

Among these projects were an Amazon fulfillment center, which is expected to create 500 jobs for the community with more than $100 million in capital investment, and Cacique Foods, with a processing facility that will create 200 new jobs with approximately $88 million. capital investment dollars in the region.

AEDC announced that the American Quarter Horse Association has agreed to extend its commitment to Amarillo for 10 years.

Other major projects added to the city were the North Heights Linen Service adding 200 jobs, Torkworx adding 80 new jobs, and RCC Brass contributing 50 new jobs.

In total, these projects created 930 jobs and $34 million in new payroll with $201 million in capital investments. AEDC has invested $16 million in these projects.

“We came out of the pandemic in relatively good shape compared to the rest of the country,” Carter said.

Carter said there were many areas Amarillo had the opportunity to capitalize on. He pointed to innovation and technology jobs as an area where the city is poised to make more inroads in these industries due to the effects on current innovation and technology industries.

Asked about the city’s efforts to increase minority-owned businesses, Carter said his office is always looking for new opportunities.

“We have a very diverse population and we certainly want to be diverse in our opportunities,” Carter said. “We haven’t just looked for minority-owned businesses, but we have certainly … with jobs that we’re trying to create; we have businesses that will be fair and provide opportunities for minorities with their jobs.”

Carter said they would like to have more minority-owned businesses such as Cacique Foods, founded by Cuban immigrants in 1973. Cacique is the leading Hispanic-style cheese brand and has committed to Amarillo with a processing and distribution facility.

“Amarillo is a great product. We have a great quality of life,” Carter said. “There are definitely things we can improve or improve on, and we will continue to do so.”

Carter also said AEDC announced a new hiring platform for the city.

“We are adding a new platform which will be launched next week. It’s called Job Up,” he said. “And that allows it to be more of a job search than a job site.”

“Texas has had, you know, a great business climate and Amarillo, we’re even thinking of capitalizing on even more of that,” Carter added.