👤 Who: Mark Wilson (Florida Chamber of Commerce), Sal Nodjomian (Matrix Design Group, former Niceville City Councilman), and local business leaders
💬 What: Discussion on Florida’s economic growth, workforce, and planning for the future
📅 When: October 2025 (this week’s regional economic development meeting)
📍 Where: Emerald Coast (attendees from Niceville, Destin, Crestview, and surrounding communities)
❓ Why: To encourage long-term planning and coordinated growth as Florida prepares for major demographic and economic changes by 2030
Community and business leaders from across Okaloosa and Walton Counties gathered this week to hear from Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson, who shared detailed projections about Florida’s economic future—and what it means for the Emerald Coast.
The meeting, hosted by Matrix Design Group CEO and former Niceville City Councilman Sal Nodjomian, focused on what local leaders can do now to ensure sustainable growth in the decades ahead.
Nodjomian opened the session by urging the crowd of roughly 300 attendees to think beyond short-term gains.
“We have to make decisions that are in the best interest of our long-term growth—growth of our schools, our infrastructure, our businesses, and everything else,” Nodjomian said. He added that responsible growth means balancing individual rights with the public good, a challenge that requires careful planning.
He pointed to large-scale developments like Deer Moss Creek in Niceville and Hammock Bay in Freeport as examples of projects that promote “healthy growth” while protecting property owners’ rights.
“Planning is not for you,” he told the audience. “It’s for future generations. You’ve got to be willing to make that investment now, recognizing you may not bear the fruit from that particular effort.”
Wilson began his remarks by quoting Proverbs 29:18—“Where there is no vision, the people perish”—and then posed a question: If Florida were a stock, would you buy it?
Most attendees said yes.
“I’d be cashing in everything,” Wilson said, agreeing with the crowd’s optimism. But he added that consistent, coordinated planning across communities would determine how far the state can go.
Florida’s economy currently ranks 16th in the world, just behind Spain and ahead of Saudi Arabia, with a value of about $1.82 trillion, Wilson said. With a unified strategy, he believes Florida could rise to 10th by 2030—comparable to Canada’s economy today.
Wilson outlined projections for the next five years:
📈 2.7 million new residents expected statewide by 2030
💼 1.31 million new jobs needed
🚗 2.5 million additional drivers on Florida’s roads
🏖️ 40 million more annual visitors
Locally, Okaloosa County is expected to add 38,000 residents and will need about 12,600 new jobs to support them.
Wilson emphasized that the state’s long-term success hinges on early education.
“In Florida, only 43% of our kindergartners show up ready for kindergarten,” he said. “In Okaloosa, it’s 41%.”
He added that just 57% of third graders statewide read at or above grade level, compared to 60% in Okaloosa County.
“There’s nothing we can do if we don’t get early learning right,” Wilson said. “If we fix early learning, we fix a thousand other things.”
He cited data showing that 64% of children who attend voluntary pre-K programs start kindergarten prepared—nearly double the rate of children who do not.
While Wilson doesn’t expect state lawmakers to mandate pre-K programs, he said business and community leaders can still help by raising awareness and supporting early learning efforts.
Wilson warned that while Florida continues to attract retirees and older workers, young adults aged 20–29 are leaving the state in significant numbers.
“That’s a canary in the coal mine,” he said. “They bring their children with them. If they leave, they don’t come back.”
He cited jobs and affordability as the main reasons younger people relocate, pointing to wide differences in housing costs.
🏠 Okaloosa County median home price: $430,000
🏡 Walton County median home price: $900,000
🏝️ Monroe County (Florida Keys): $1.2 million
🌲 Liberty County (Panhandle): $220,000
Wilson encouraged local leaders to look beyond their borders and share best practices.
“As I travel Florida, I’m seeing pockets of excellence,” he said. “We need patterns of excellence.”
He said local communities—like Okaloosa and Walton—often have strong programs that go unnoticed, even by residents.
“My biggest frustration is the lack of awareness of what’s happening and what’s working,” Wilson said.
When asked about traffic congestion and infrastructure, Wilson challenged the audience to think creatively.
He proposed ideas like freight delivery incentives for nighttime hours and smarter traffic signal systems that adjust based on real-time congestion.
“Everyone loves to say, ‘We need more money to build more roads,’” he said. “But if you want to widen roads, you should’ve started 20 years ago. We need to think about innovation now.”
Wilson also addressed recent discussions about eliminating property taxes in Florida.
“I don’t know how you eliminate a $55 billion revenue stream,” he said. “If this gets on the ballot, every county commission in Florida will be filling rooms like this, asking, ‘What do you want me to cut—fire, police, 911?’”
He said the issue highlights residents’ frustration with rising costs, but warned that lowering property taxes could lead to shifting the burden elsewhere.
Wilson closed by encouraging attendees to explore several publicly available tools for understanding state and local trends:
The Florida Scorecard: thefloridascorecard.org
The Florida Gap Map: Visualizes key data by ZIP code
Florida Institute for Political Leadership: Offers resources for Floridians interested in running for office
In Summary, Wilson and Nodjomian told Emerald Coast leaders that planning for long-term growth—through education, innovation, and collaboration—will determine whether Okaloosa and Walton Counties can sustain their success as Florida’s population and economy continue to grow.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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