Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
February 27, 2026
Florida's Northwest Booms with Military Talent & Regional Teamwork
TLDR
- Florida's Great Northwest offers companies a competitive edge with its regional coordination approach, military talent pipeline, and $1.5 billion Triumph fund for aerospace and maritime investments.
- The organization coordinates 13 counties as professional matchmakers, leveraging 5,200 annual military separations and site readiness strategies to generate over 1,500 announced jobs since 2020.
- This approach creates thousands of quality jobs, retains skilled veterans in the region, and builds sustainable economic growth through strategic public-private partnerships.
- Northwest Florida's six military bases produce 5,200 annual separations with an average age of 38, creating a unique talent pipeline that attracts major industrial projects.
Impact - Why it Matters
This news highlights a replicable economic development model that addresses critical workforce shortages and regional competition. For businesses, especially in aerospace and manufacturing, it demonstrates how accessing skilled military veterans and coordinated regional planning can reduce relocation risks and operational costs. For communities, it shows how leveraging existing assets like military bases and settlement funds can attract high-quality jobs without costly incentives, fostering sustainable growth. For workers, it means more local opportunities as companies are drawn to areas with proven talent retention, potentially stabilizing regional economies and offering career pathways for transitioning service members.
Summary
In a revealing Beyond the Build podcast episode, Jennifer Conoley, President and CEO of Florida's Great Northwest, details a successful "professional matchmaker" strategy for regional economic development. Since 2020, this approach has generated over 1,500 announced jobs by coordinating across 13 counties from Pensacola to Tallahassee, preventing internal competition and attracting major projects like Field International's global headquarters and Birdon's potential 2,000-job maritime expansion at the Port of Pensacola. The organization leverages a unique military talent pipeline, with six nearby bases producing about 5,200 skilled separations annually, nearly half of whom wish to stay in the region, providing companies with a quantifiable workforce advantage.
Conoley, in conversation with Kelvin Enfinger Jr. of Greenhut Construction, emphasizes that site readiness and strategic funding are critical. The region benefits from the $1.5 billion Triumph Gulf Coast fund, derived from Deepwater Horizon settlements, which supports public-private partnerships to attract industrial investments without aggressive cash incentives. A recent $4.7 million Triumph grant will enhance long-term strategy, aiming to solidify Northwest Florida's reputation in the Gulf Coast corridor for aerospace and maritime work. The full conversation is available on major podcast platforms and YouTube here, offering insights for developers and investors.
The region's compelling value proposition combines coordinated economic development, a reliable talent pool from military transitions, available industrial land, and patient capital sources. This model is particularly attractive for aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and maritime sectors, with Enfinger noting the broader applicability of military skills across industries. Despite current momentum, Conoley warns against complacency, urging continued effort to capitalize on a full project pipeline and position Northwest Florida for sustained growth over the next decade.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by Keycrew.co. Read the original source here, Florida's Northwest Booms with Military Talent & Regional Teamwork
