Are holiday decorations economic development?

Rockdale recently lit up with Holiday decorations, centered on downtown. The city contributed some money to this effort and the Rockdale MDD will make a contribution for next year’s decorations.

Wait – is that really an economic development expense? First, improving Rockdale’s quality of place and showing Rockdale as a good investment location is part of the new economic development strategic plan and community decorations are a small part of that. But let’s go a little deeper into why decorating for the holidays is a good thing for Rockdale’s economy.

We have been told the Highway 79 corridor does not give the best presentation for folks unfamiliar with Rockdale. They may not get the opportunity to see the nice neighborhoods and other things that make Rockdale a great little town. Therefore, we need to take measures to change outsiders’ perceptions. If there is only a certain section of Rockdale that folks will see (the Highway 79/Cameron Avenue corridor) then we need to make this part look the best it can be. Doing holiday lights is a small way to start to change Rockdale’s presentation. An improved presentation will reduce perceptions of investment risk.

Next, the presence of holiday decorations demonstrates civic pride. Putting up holiday decorations is a way to show the world that Rockdale is a special place which the residents are proud to call home. More importantly, it demonstrates that they care enough about the town to give a little money to make it better during a special time of the year.

This civic pride starts with community leadership. The effort to decorate downtown is a combination of efforts from the city, the Chamber, the Rockdale Downtown Association, the Historical Society, private businesses and individuals. These are all organizations and folks who normally may not have a reason to collaborate. Getting all these folks to work together on holiday decorations builds the civic muscles we will need in the future to make bigger decisions.

And holiday decorations project that small-town charm that our residents cherish.

These things – improving Rockdale’s quality of place, showing Rockdale as a place worthy of investment, and building up our community leadership – are all elements of our economic development plan.

We are going to do great things in Rockdale, Texas!