Board To Apply For Retirement Program

A presentation on the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Certified Retirement Community Program was made during the Canton Economic Development Corporation’s meeting last week.

Linda Parker, with the Texas Dept. of Ag. Rural Economic Development department, spoke to the CEDC board and several business owners in attendance on the program and its benefits to a community.

"This is just another piece of the pie of economic development," CEDC Executive Director Mercy Rushing said in introducing the program and speaker to the city. "I’m excited about this program. I think it is something that will bring some more rooftops into this community."

Although only around for four years, Parker said there are already 30 Certified Retirement Community’s (CRC) in Texas.

Those towns nearby who are members include Athens, Longview, Gun Barrel City, Mineola and Big Sandy.

"I look at economic development as, this is just another thing in the toolbox that we have to use," Parker said. "Anything that brings dollars into the community, we are for that, because that is economic development."

With seven different divisions of the TDA, Parker oversees the East Texas corridor.

"We are letting the rest of the world know what we have here in East Texas," Parker said.

A CRC is geared toward "active retiree", Parker explained.

"We want people who can give back to the community," she said. "Especially our Baby Boomers."

Parker said that some people feel that active retirees do not spend a lot of money.

"It is a proven fact that the active retiree has disposable income and they are willing to spend dollars," she said.

Parker went on to explain that on average their income is above minimum, they are coming from out of the Metroplex area, and give back to the community by supporting schools.

"The bottom line is we are not trying to bring old people into the community, we want active retirees that can bring benefits to our community," Parker said.

"Developers are looking to the East Texas area now because with the retirees buying power, the developers are going to follow the money," Parker said.

She went on to say that when looking at a retiree, you are looking at someone at the age of 55.

"They are retiring earlier, they have more money and they are wanting to do another career. They are little entrepreneurs," she said.

"Members of the 50 plus market have 80 percent of all the savings accounts deposits, 77 percent of all the personal financial assets, 68 percent of all the money market accounts, and 50 percent of all the corporate stock," Parker said. "…We want a little portion of that money here in East Texas."

"Retirees are tourist first," she continued. "They eat in our restaurants, stay in our hotels….it is good to have them as a tourist, but of course we want them to stay. We like those sales tax dollars."

Parker explained that in order to be a part of the program a city must fulfill several requirements including filling out an application, retiree desirability assessment, score sheet, marketing plan, long term plan, letters of support, fee and appoint a community CRC board/panel.

"We try very, very hard to market our community," Parker said.

The fee to become a member is $5,000 which is good for five years.

Parker also noted that the benefits of becoming a CRC include statewide marketing campaign to attract retirees and tourists, positive economic and social impact to the community, requires no tax abatement or incentives, tools to assess your community to better understand your strengths and weaknesses for recruiting retirees.

"Texas is a good place to retire," she said. "It is economic development and dollars coming to our area."

"Our goal at TDA is to bring economic development to the East Texas area," she said.

Rushing said a committee would put the application together in a book format to present to the TDA.

Parker explained that the application is "not for the faint of heart" because it is very detailed and usually takes six to eight months to complete.

"It is a living, breathing document," Parker said. "It basically sums up what you have in your community; your strengths and your weaknesses."

Any citizen interested in serving on the Certified Retirement Committee in order to help put together the application for the city of Canton are encouraged to contact the CEDC office at 903-567-1849.

Those interested will be put on a list and selections will be made by the city council.