"FORBES MAGAZINE" PUTS OKALOOSA COUNTY IN TOP 20 GEEK CITY LIST

What does this mean. This is what I have been describing to many of you for years. As noted, Eglin AFB is the sister base of Edwards AFB, which was largely responsible for the silicone valley of the west coast. With one of the missions of Eglin AFB being testing (weapons and planes), and now with the Training of the F-35 pilots, you can see how this is playing out. Weapons may be expensive, however personnel are much more expensive. Morale of this story. With these factors in our area, more and more defense contractors are finding their way to our area, not only for military application of this technology, but commercial application of this technology, as well.

Geekville
Engineers, scientists, techies boost Okaloosa to Forbes Top 20
By KATY HOUGHTON
Florida Freedom Newspapers
If Okaloosa County had a closet, tucked beneath the stacks of flip-flops and swimsuits would be a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, a TI-89 graphing calculator and some freshly pressed khakis. The Crestview, Fort Walton Beach and Destin metro area recently was ranked No. 20 on Forbes list of America’s Geekiest Cities. The report defined geeks as “any workers with a bachelor’s level of knowledge and education in science or engineering-related fields or workers in occupations that require some degree of technical knowledge or training.” Larry Sassano, president of the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County, said it was interesting to see the small Metropolitan Statistical Area among large cities such as Seattle and San Jose, Calif. “The STEMs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are strengths in our area because of our excellent universities and colleges and our top-ranked schools,” said Sassano, who added that the area’s 250-plus contractors and Eglin Air Force Base’s research and development and test and evaluation missions attract many engineers, scientists and technical men and women. “Given all the expansion in the area, I could see there being a lot of attraction for those skill sets,” said Matthew Myers, a Destin resident and IT manager with Niceville’s Data Software Services. Still, he said he was stunned to see the area on the list of hot spots such as Framingham, Mass., home of Bose, Staples and a sizable Genzyme research center. After serving in the Air Force, Myers worked in the tech industry in Dallas for a Fortune 1000 company. But all projects were cut after 9/11, and he decided to move to the beach town he had vacationed at for years. After starting his computer service and repair business 10 years ago, “the hardest obstacle for me was finding employees with that fine, basic skill set I needed,” he said. Myers said he believes Eglin and Hurlburt Field help to enhance those numbers by attracting several defense contractors for big projects. “I think this is more of attraction. There is not much homegrown so to speak,” he said. Of the workforce in the Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin area, 8.8 percent, about 7,200 workers, are employed in the science, technology, engineering or mathematics field. John Elamad, a civil and structural engineer, also was surprised to see the area on the list of high tech venues. Despite the lack of workers in the private sector, “Eglin Air Force Base is a prime location for defense contractors. Not only is it one of the largest, but several missions are carried out from there,” said Elamad, the owner of EMC in Destin. It takes geeks to “service military equipment and conduct research and development on new projects.” Shane Moody, president and CEO of the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce, hopes the chamber can use the ranking to help bring more small, techoriented companies to the area. “Even though the list is titled ‘geekiest,’ I think it’s a great compliment,” he said.