This month marks the 25th anniversary of Camoin Associates! I am reminded of a 25th wedding anniversary quote that went something like, “Here’s to a love story that has stood the test of time. A love everlasting, and that’s all I wished for on this day so long ago.”
While this quote doesn’t entirely apply to our company’s silver anniversary, I can’t recall contemplating this celebration so long ago. Back then, I was probably wondering if we would last 25 months, let alone 25 years. But we did, in large part because of the incredibly hard work of our team and owners, the early and ongoing support of our families, and our wonderful clients who have called on us time and again to support their good work.
What began as an office in my home with dial-up internet service eventually expanded to two offices, 26 employees, and over 1,800 projects across 46 states. Ironically, I’m back working in my home office again, but thankfully with much better internet access.
Over the past 25 years, we have placed significant value on becoming a company where someone with a passion for economic development could learn and grow with us for a good portion of their career journey, and even become an owner.
It is my core belief that “if we can’t figure out how to create meaningful employment and prosperity for our own people, we have no business telling communities, regions, and states how to do it.” I suspect that is, in part, why nine of our current team members have been with us for ten or more of those 25 years, and more than a few have been with us for about 20 years.
This brings me to a second but equally important piece of great news for Camoin Associates: With great pride and appreciation, I’m happy to announce that Rachel Selsky, AICP, became Camoin Associates’ second CEO effective August 1.
Rachel joined us in 2008 and has embodied our mission of internal advancement. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in all areas of our organization, contributing to a wide array of projects across all service lines and geographies and helping formalize the company’s operations as we grew.
Rachel began her career with us as an Analyst out of graduate school, and quickly moved on to become Project Manager and Senior Project Manager. She has played a vital role in our success over the years.
For the last eight years, I’ve had the privilege of working even more closely with Rachel, mentoring her in the intricacies of business operations as part of our succession planning efforts. Her dedication and aptitude led her to take on the company’s first COO position five years ago, a role in which she has excelled, and two years ago, Rachel, along with Christa Franzi and Tom Dworetsky, officially joined the firm as owners.
As our new CEO, I have complete confidence Rachel will continue to successfully drive the business forward and enable us to deliver the high-quality services and successful outcomes our client’s demand.
As for me, I’ll retain my role as President and begin my 26th year with Camoin Associates as CEO of our subsidiary “data as a service” (DaaS) start-up, ProspectEngage™. What began in the pandemic years as a website monitoring tool to more efficiently and effectively identify companies looking for new expansion locations has evolved into an economic development organization marketing intelligence and business attraction system. I can only hope I’m around (on the sidelines) to see what it becomes in 25 years.
Lastly, I’m reminded of something my late grandfather said to me when I was just a kid: “Rob, in your life to come, take care of your family and the rest will take care of itself.”
Over the years, I’ve substituted “family” with “community” to convey how vital each of our roles is in creating a vibrant economy. Under Rachel’s leadership, the entire Camoin Associates team looks forward to continuing to help our clients take care of their communities so that, indeed, the rest takes care of itself.
I look forward to seeing those of you attending the IEDC Annual Conference in Denver next month. Please stop by our booth in the exhibit hall to celebrate our 25th anniversary and congratulate Rachel on her new CEO role.
