The current struggle and debate over the state operating budget underlines the need to retain and attract jobs in our state.

Although some companies are hiring and the economy is showing signs of improvement, the state of Ohio and our region still have a long way to go.

When my grandfather and dad went to work for Frick-Gallagher Manufacturing, they spent their whole career working for that firm.

Today, this is rarely the case.

The economy is changing very quickly. A business that is economically successful today can become obsolete almost overnight. We saw this when Movie Gallery and Blockbuster both went belly up in a short amount of time.

With the rapidly changing economy, Ohio has to change the way it conducts economic development. We must place more focus on retention and expansion of current businesses and job opportunities.

We have to change the way we market new investment in order to bring jobs to Ohio. Areas such as Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati have become much more active in marketing their areas on a regional level and are experiencing success.

Recently, Rep. Lou Gentile (D-Steubenville) and I convened a meeting with Appalachian legislators from the House and the Senate from both parties.

We met with the new director of the Department of Development James Leftwich and members of his staff, as well as the Local Development Districts from Appalachia.

One of the main reasons for the meeting was to engage in how Appalachia Ohio will interact with Jobs Ohio.

The good news is that we all agreed that we need to work together to formulate a better strategy for economic development.

Appalachia covers a large diverse area in Ohio, which can create obstacles to collaboration.

However, we hope that if we can market ourselves as a region, our efforts will lead to keeping and attracting more jobs. Each county or community will still perform their own economic development efforts, but together we will have a much bigger stick to attract economic development.

Unfortunately, the current system does not always lead to quick answers or easy access to information in the time needed for the prospective investors.

We do not want business prospects to have to overcome numerous barriers in order to locate jobs in Ohio. The local development districts will work with other partners to become a strong force in national and international economic development.

These development initiatives will include manufacturing, mining, agriculture, tourism, and everything in between.

Our mindset has to be that we are going to be successful and take the necessary actions on the state and national level to make it happen.

The repeal of the estate tax in the budget is an example of one game changer for some businesses who want to invest in our state.

Access to a trained and educated workforce is another important piece.

My colleagues and I will continue to address these and many other issues as we move forward. I look forward to being a part of this regional effort to attract more jobs and strengthen the ones we have.

John Carey serves in Ohio’s 87th District of the House of Representatives, which includes eastern Lawrence County. He can be reached at (614) 466-1366, by writing to: Ohio House of Representatives, 77 S. High St., Columbus, OH 43215, or via e-mail at District87@ohr.state.oh.us.