First Coast Manufacturers Association Joins Campaign To Save Enterprise Florida And Visit Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - March 20, 2017 - PRLog -- In order to protect future jobs and to continue the bolstering of the local economy through the recruitment of manufacturing, the First Coast Manufacturers Association (FCMA) has joined Governor Rick Scott's campaign to prevent the elimination of Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida by the Florida Legislature.

 Both Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida are state agencies that use state funds to promote tourism and business relocation to the state. The Florida House of Representatives have voted to eliminate both agencies in the current legislative session.

According to the Governor's office, 56,130 jobs have been created in Duval County since 2010 as a result of Enterprise Florida efforts. In addition, over 82 million tourists visited Duval and Nassau counties in 2015; with direct spending resulting in $1.8 billion economic impact.

"You only have to look at the jobs being brought to the area by Amazon, the jobs created by Johnson & Johnson VisionCare's expansion, and the new jobs from General Electric to see how critical Enterprise Florida is to Northeast Florida," explained Lake Ray, president of FCMA.

"It is important that we remind our Legislative Delegation that jobs are the key to the growth of the First Coast, that in turn, benefits our economy, our schools and our quality of life."

         The First Coast Manufacturers Association is a non-profit trade association serving Northeast Florida. There are over 1,500 manufacturing companies on the First Coast, supplying over 30,000 jobs and generating nearly 15% of the total gross regional product. Additional media information on FCMA is available at www.fcmaweb.com.

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