All of us at TCOG want to personally thank each of you for giving so generously of your time, energy, and expertise at the Texoma Made Conference. Spending the day with us—sharing your insights, stories, and experience—made the event truly special and inspiring for everyone in attendance.

We were thrilled to see the conference featured on local news channels KXII and KTEN!  Please visit the Texoma Made Conference website for additional highlights. Your contribution made this possible and reflects the incredible leadership and care you bring to our community. Your contribution made this possible, and the feedback we’ve received has been incredible—attendees are already asking when we’ll do it again!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping us connect people, inspire ideas, and strengthen our Texoma community. Your generosity and leadership made all the difference.

Until next time, we hope to see you again at future Texoma Made events!

With sincere gratitude,
TCOG’s Texoma Made Conference Team

TCOG to Host Texoma Made 2025

SHERMAN, September 19, 2025 – Eric Bridges, Executive Director of the Texoma Council of Governments announced today that Texoma Made 2025, a premier learning and networking event for business leaders, city officials, educators, and changemakers shaping the future of North Texas and Southern Oklahoma will take place from 8a to 4p on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at Austin College in Sherman.

“Our objective with Texoma Made 2025,” said Mr. Bridges “is to equip leaders with strategies, resources, and partnerships that strengthen economic resilience, promote our region, and drive innovations. With rapid growth in advanced manufacturing, workforce demand, and business development – alongside rising housing and infrastructure pressures – communities must act now to plan for a sustainable future.  By combining actionable strategies, expert insights, and cross-sector collaboration, Texoma Made 2025 will equip community leaders with the tools to turn lessons from resilience into measurable progress across Texoma.”

Texoma Made 2025 is funded in part by a grant from the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) with additional support from Hot 107.3 FM, First United Bank, Texoma HR, and Huitt-Zollars.  For additional event details, including how to register, go to www.texomamadeconference.com

The Texoma Council of Governments is a voluntary association of the local governments in Cooke, Fannin, and Grayson counties. Established in 1968, Texoma Council of Governments promotes economy and efficiency in the coordinated planning and development of the tri-county region through its community and economic development activities. Both directly and through contractors, the Council provides housing, utility assistance, and weatherization services for low-income citizens in the region and assists the elderly through a variety of Area Agency on Aging programs. The Council also facilitates the delivery of grant funding for homeland security and criminal justice.

Click here to register.

As many know, primary objective of the TxCDBG program is to develop viable communities by providing decent housing, suitable living environments while expanding economic opportunities principally for persons of low to moderate income. Alysia will bring that objective to life during this 1 hour webinar by presenting cutting-edge economic and workforce development trends – any community will be inspired for the transformation that is on the horizon. We welcome you to come and learn innovative strategies for growth and prosperity.

Click here to register.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is now accepting applications for its $50 million Build to Scale (B2S) Program to support projects that strengthen equitable ecosystems and increase access to capital for innovators, entrepreneurs, and startups.  The program builds regional economies by supporting scalable startup ecosystems through entrepreneurial support organization, as well as helps communities and regions grow technology-driven businesses; create high-skill, high-wage jobs; and build the industries of the future.  The Notice of Funding Opportunity has been published.  Deadline for applications in July 28, 2023.   Click here to apply.

For more information, visit EDA’s Build to Scale (B2S) program website.

SHERMAN, May 25, 2023 – The United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Phase I of its Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (Tech Hub) Program.

EDA’s vision for the program is to strengthen US economic and national security through place-based investments in geographically diverse regions with a concentration of assets, resources, and capacity aligned with the potential to become globally competitive in the technologies and industries of the future and for those industries, companies, and the good jobs they create, to start, grow, and remain in the U.S.

Only consortia are eligible to apply.  Each consortium must include a higher institute of education, a subnational or tribal government, relevant industry or firms, an economic development organization, and a labor or workforce training organization.

The deadline for Phase I applications is August 15, 2023.  For more information, visit EDA’s Tech Hubs webpage.

Economic Impact of Texoma Council of Governments Operations in FY 2021

The Texoma Council of Governments directly employs 47 workers. The total salaries and benefits paid to these individuals in FY 2021 was approximately $3.0 million. The organization’s operating expenditure during the year totaled approximately $13.7 million. This direct economic activity supported indirect and induced economic impacts during the year, as shown below.

Texoma Area Impact

As shown above, the organization’s annual expenditures and salaries in the Texoma Area of $13.7 million supported another $6.9 million in sales in businesses and other organizations in the region. In total, TCOG supported $20.6 million in economic output or revenues for businesses in the region.

The organization directly supports a total of 47 direct jobs and an additional 55 indirect and induced jobs in the region. In total, TCOG supported 102 employees in the region.

Similarly, while compensation for the organization’s employees totaled $3.0 million, the organization’s spending and spending of its employees supported another $2.3 million in compensation for workers in spin-off jobs in the region. Therefore, TCOG supports annual salaries of $5.3 million in the region.

Statewide Impact

Spending that takes places beyond the immediate three-county region expands the Texoma Council of Governments’ impact. As shown in the State of Texas column, the organization’s impact statewide is slightly larger than the local Texoma Area impact The statewide economic impact in revenues for businesses is $27.5 million or about $6.9 million greater than the local impact. It is important to note the local impact represents a subset of the statewide impact.

Value of Volunteers

The Texoma Council of Governments coordinates many volunteers in conjunction with the Aging Services Department. These volunteers counsel the elderly, assist residents with administrative tasks and provide mentors to school children. During 2021, Texoma Council of Governments volunteers provided 4,635 hours of service, valued at $135,157.

Tax Revenues for Local Taxing Districts Supported by TCOG in FY 2021

The Texoma Council of Governments supports economic impacts in the region which result in tax revenues for local taxing districts in Cooke, Fannin and Grayson counties. The taxable spending by workers generates local sales tax collections. Also, direct, indirect and induced workers that own or occupy residential property support property taxes to cities, counties schools and other taxing districts in the area. Housing vouchers also indirectly support a portion of residential property in the area.

The Texoma Council of Governments supports annual local tax revenues of $559,000 in the region which are generated by worker spending as well as residential property taxes.

In total, the Texoma Council of Governments supports total annual revenues of $615,000 for the State of Texas and local taxing districts such as cities, counties and school districts in the region.

While the above is a summary of the results of this analysis, details are on the following pages.

Speaker: Joey Grisham is a long-time community and economic development professional, currently serving as the City of Anna Economic Development Director. Since his arrival in Feb. 2019, Joey has recruited and facilitated multiple deals including mixed-use developments, retail, medical, and industrial projects. He previously served as Asst. Director of Economic Development Director in Rowlett and Director of Business Recruitment for the Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. While in Irving, he worked on many successful office and industrial deals including McKesson, Atos, Pioneer Natural Resources, Verizon, Oki Data, Hilti Tools, and many more. He has also served as Director of the Hutto EDC and Lake Granbury EDC. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Memphis, and a Master of Science degree in Economic Development from the University of Southern Mississippi and is a member of the International Economic Development Council, Texas Economic Development Council, NTCAR, and the International Council of Shopping Centers.