Brevard County will
continue honoring
its space exploration
legacy, but will also
emphasize the many
components of the area
through the new Mission
Space Coast initiative.
BUSINESS
MANUFACTURING GROWTH
Although manufacturing jobs have been in
decline nationally since 2000, the Space Coast’s SPACE COAST OFFICE OF TOURISM
WINTER 2023: 45
Brevard has been a hub for launching and
landing the birds of steel. Under Weatherman’s
leadership, the area expanded beyond that market,
a move that renders it the flexibility to withstand
economic ups and downs.
“As the EDC focused on industry diversification,
the Space Coast has transformed from a site
primarily for launch and landing to a mecca for
innovation and technology,” Weatherman said.
“With this diversification came the attraction
and growth of industry giants such as Embraer,
L3Harris, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin and more.
Our region is the leader in manufacturing in the
state of Florida and the fifth best performing
economy in the nation.”
SPACE COAST OFFICE OF TOURISM
Mission Space Coast, a partnership between the EDC and the
Space Coast Office of Tourism, will incorporate area attractions
such as Brevard Zoo into new, unified branding.
It is no secret that Weatherman has been instrumental
in reshaping the Space Coast. The commission’s
accomplishments include $1.8 billion in
capital investment resulting from the announcement
of more than 50 business development projects
over a 10-year period and the first-ever Space
Act agreement between Kennedy Space Center
and an economic development organization.
During the same decade, the Space Coast snagged
the assembly and checkout of NASA’s Crew
Exploration Vehicle and attracted expansion of
players such as Embraer and Thales.
It was largely through the efforts of Weatherman
and her team that Brevard pivoted so successfully
after the retirement of the shuttle program. A
comeback that typically requires a generation or
more was accomplished in a decade.
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