![Andrew Wiggins, Senior Director, Political Affairs & Coalitions Advocacy at Florida Chamber of Commerce, speaks at the ahernando County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast. [Credit: Austyn Szempruch]](https://www.hernandosun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20241120_080609-scaled.jpg "20241120_080609")
On November 20, community leaders and members of the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce met for the monthly membership meeting at the Sand Hill Scout Reservation. Usually held on the last Wednesday of the month, the gathering was moved up a week with Thanksgiving on the horizon. The breakfast featured speakers from Withlacoochee River Electric and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Mark Barry was recognized for 50 years of service to the Arc Nature Coast.
This month’s breakfast was sponsored by the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative (WREC) and was represented that morning by their Executive Vice President and General Manager, David Lambert. Lambert, a 31-year veteran at Withlacoochee, holds his MBA and BA in Business Administration from St. Leo University.
Despite his longevity with the organization, the executive vice president has only served in his current role for less than two years. What a two years that has turned out to be, with a pair of major hurricanes ravaging Florida’s adventure coast over the past couple of months.
“I’m proud to say the department did a fantastic job of restoring power,” said Lambert. “We did a lot of firsts […] I want to thank the Boy Scouts for everything that they did. We had 1000 outside personnel right here at this Boy Scout camp […] I want to personally thank Ranger Dan and his wife because when the crews started arriving, we didn’t have a place for them to sleep.”
The help of the Boy Scouts and several other organizations allowed the WREC to restore power relatively quickly across much of the county. Regrettably, many residents further inland in areas around Ridge Manor are still suffering from other issues, such as flooding and mold.
Looking towards the future, the electric cooperative believes business and growth look very strong. Considering that, WREC plans to make “significant investments” in the county over the next 10 years.
The projected amount of $250 million over that span will go towards various endeavors, including five new substation sites and offices across the county. “The future is very bright,” Lambert said.
After Lambert’s presentation, Andrew Wiggins, Florida Chamber of Commerce Senior Director of Political Affairs and Coalitions Advocacy, spoke about income migration around the county and across the state.
As the director described it, the concept of income migration is that “people bring their money with them” when they move to a new area. As of 2022, Florida is the number one state in the Union, with $36 billion moving in in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Texas is second in this category, with Florida being greater than numbers three through ten combined. Looking closer at Hernando County reveals that we have a higher net income migration than the states of Mississippi, Kentucky or West Virginia.
The amount coming in is good enough to rank Hernando twenty-third among all counties across the country. “People are moving here and they bring their wealth with them,” Wiggin said.
There is also significant outmigration from Florida to elsewhere. According to his presentation, more people near age 35 are moving in while those closer to age 30 are moving out. This could be due to housing costs, which average around $400,000.
As a result, one in three Floridians are renters. Fortunately, numbers are better in Hernando, as the cost of a house is around $350,000 and the proportion of those renting is roughly 20 percent. Factors that can play into these numbers include the amount of VPK programs and, more obviously, the volume of jobs available.
Why is this information important? As Wiggins puts it: “We believe that data helps you prepare for the future, and we don’t want to be reactive. We want to be proactive. How do we meet needs before they actually become needs.”
Next month, the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce will hold a free holiday breakfast, thanks to sponsors Cemex, Capital City Bank, Airsource, and Creative Environmental Solutions, on Wednesday, December 18, at 7:15 am at the Sand Hill Scout Reservation Lodge. There will be a special performance by Live Oak Theatre. Register at https://www.hernandochamber.com/
