Economic improvement won’t come over night, but we are making strides, is the word from Erica Smith, director of the Economic Empowerment Zones Agency. Mrs Smith has been director of the EEZ, a programme of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), for three years now and last month helped to open its St George's office. The goal of the EEZ is economic revitalisation and community support in their core locations. Jessie Moniz met with Mrs Smith to learn more about her role with the EEZ and her vision for the future.To start with, the job involves a lot of travelling. Erica Smith spends some of the week in the City of Hamilton and the rest of the week in St George's, but she said it was worth it.“Right now it is very busy,” she said. “When we launched our St George's office on July 30, we said we were having a new officer for St George’s, but that person, Ray Lambert, doesn’t come on board until mid-September.“0We didn’t want to wait; we knew we had to have a presence and provide support to businesses there.”She thought having offices in each economic empowerment zone was a necessity because she felt the only way to create robust and effective policies and incentives was to be engrossed in the same day to day experiences as their stake holders.“But I think it also allows us to build trust in a fairly quick and compact way,” she said.She has a Bachelor’s degree in architecture and a Master’s degree in city planning. The town of St George's is particularly dear to her heart, because as a young architect, one of her first jobs was with the architectural firm of Stanley G Kennedy, based in St George's.She became interested in city planning after working on a Corporation of St George's town revitalisation plan, and also on the initial planning for the reclaimed baselands and airport several years ago.Now most of her day is spent in listening to the concerns of businesses within the EEZ areas. Some meetings are with established businesses while others are with new business owners looking for advice on how to flourish in the current difficult economy.“Unfortunately, as a result of this economy we have seen an increase in ‘necessity entrepreneurs’,” she said. “These are people who have been let go or made redundant looking to start a business because they just can not find other employment.“We also meet with businesses on site to see exactly how they operate. Also, we meet with banks on a quarterly basis to hear any concerns they have.”Now the EEZ is encouraging businesses in the old town to work together more collaboratively.They are also advising businesses to target locals as well as visitors. This is important as the last census showed that St George’s is the fastest growing parish in Bermuda.“We have seen some changes, but we still have a long way to go,” she said. “One of the areas to look at is just ensuring you are providing a consistent customer friendly service to your consumers so that people know that when they go there at 10am you will be open at that point.”But times are difficult economically all over Bermuda, leading some people to question why the EEZ is focusing on some areas of the Island and not others.“Based on some of our research, we have seen that some areas of the country have been at more of a disadvantage historically than other areas,” Mrs Smith said. “While I would agree that it is hard times for everyone out there, in our designated areas, there is still a huge gap where they stand and where the rest of the Island’s businesses stand.“For us it is about closing those gaps as much as possible. Some have asked why not make the whole entire Island an EEZ? It is an excellent question, but geographically you can see some of the core struggling areas. We just try to focus on those areas.”North East Hamilton was designated an EEZ in June 2007. She said since that time they have seen improvements in regards to the stability and sustainability of the businesses there, and growth in regards to education and know how.“When we designated North East Hamilton, and the other zones, we knew we were in it for the long haul,” she said. “The issues there didn’t just arrive over night.“A lot of it is tied to issues and concerns that happen outside of North East Hamilton. We have been there officially in an office since I was hired three years ago.“We have seen some progress, small incremental progress, but we still have a long way to go. We still have a commitment to be there for at least ten years at a minimal.”She said as they progress in North East Hamilton she has a wish list in mind that involves the physical regeneration and enhancement of the area.“I know it will come, it is just a matter of sticking to the wicket. Some of that is impacted by the economy. We are working behind the scenes on engaging with partners or developers to see how we can bring about change.“When the economy improves and financing becomes more readily available we are ready to jump with those types of projects.“Meanwhile, we are still working on assisting existing businesses and recruiting new businesses into the area to try and get that fundamental economic base going to realise the more progressive developments that will come down in the pipeline.”What keeps her going is the desire to improve and help businesses and people in these particular areas. The situation is so serious for some business owners that some of them cry during meetings with the EEZ.“It may be because of debt that they have somehow got into because of the economy,” she said. “They need to have a strategy to get out and we are there to provide it.“What keeps me going is knowing I have the ability to help someone or make a difference in their lives. When you see people being able to breathe because it isn’t all doom and gloom, that is the best feeling you can get.”In her spare time, Mrs Smith is heavily involved in the autism charity ‘Tomorrow’s Voices’. She is the chairman until the end of this year and then will remain as a board member. She also chairs some of their sub committees.For more information about the EEZ see their website at www.bedc.bm, telephone 292-5570 or e-mail Mrs Smith at esmith@bedc.bm.