DeSoto says city’s new strategic plan will keep it focused on the future
Months of planning and discussions led to a five-year plan that focuses on several areas.
File photo.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
The city of DeSoto says its new five-year strategic plan will continue pushing the city toward the future.
The plan was created with input from city employees, council members, residents, business leaders, the DeSoto Independent School District, the DeSoto Economic Development Corporation, the DeSoto Chamber of Commerce and city boards and commissions.
The plan includes seven areas of focus to help guide leaders through the 2025 fiscal year. They are:
DeSoto woman quit her job during COVID-19 pandemic to open a Black-owned, holistic healing business
At Divine Selections, Shalan Colbert focuses on healing the mind, body and spirit through holistic remedies, tarot card readings, life coaching and crystals.
Shalan Colbert decided to move into the Grow DeSoto Marketplace because she was tired of making those in corporate America money, she said.(Tyler Carter)
Four months ago, Shalan Colbert made a big life change when she left her corporate job to focus on her holistic health business, Divine Solutions, and open a physical location within Grow DeSoto Marketplace.
While her mother was worried about the stable job that was being left behind, Colbert describes it as stepping into freedom.
Grow DeSoto is helping minority-owned businesses get started, even in the COVID-19 pandemic
The marketplace serves as an incubator for small businesses, with programs designed to help entrepreneurs thrive.
Late Mayor Curtistene McCowan and Mayor Pro Tem Kenzie Moore III are seen welcoming Vietnamese Restaurant Pho ThaiBinh to Grow DeSoto in this 2019 file photo.(City of DeSoto)
Grow DeSoto Market Place, a small-business incubator that launched two years ago, has become a one-stop shop for the city’s residents.
It houses more than seven restaurants, 17 office spaces and 22 retailers, including a hair salon, a gym and an art studio that serves wine.