Appointed Tulare County Film Commissioner in 2008, I have held that position for 10 years. I have worked on economic development issues for Tulare County since 2001. My responsibilities include tourism promotion for our region and marketing business development opportunities within Tulare County to potential investors. Before beginning my public service career I covered national and regional politics and agribusiness for newspapers located in California’s Central Valley.

Our film office receives on average at least 500 inquiries about film projects annually, and we make every effort to facilitate location scouting, permitting, site monitoring during filming and and all other necessary tasks. My position as Film Commissioner is one of 41 such appointments within in the State of California recognized by the California Film Commissioner’s office. I have been an active member of the Film Liaisons in California Statewide (FLICS) for more than 10 years and have served one term as a FLICS Board member. Committee assignments have included developing educational programs and staff workshops on topics such as child labor laws. I also help organize and raise funds to support FLICS’ annual California On Locations Awards show.

Core responsibilities while working for Tulare County leadership have included development of my local government’s strategic management plan, including identifying policy objectives, and setting goals to guide our organization’s actions.

One of my reasons for joining AFCI in 2008 was to participate in the University courses. Later I worked closely with former AFCI staffer Jerry Day to make suggestions on how to transition the expanded educational course offerings into online offerings, a key step toward allowing increased participation by international members who could not consistently attend AFCI events.

I have attended many Cineposiums and have participated as an exhibitor in several AFCI Locations events. These venues have allowed me to network with highly successful film commissioners from all over the world and to learn from their own organizations’ “best practices” about valuable techniques to grow the effectiveness of our local film commission.

More than once, I have met clients through AFCI networking opportunities that have gone on to visit our region to scout locations or pursue projects. The greater marketing synergy of AFCI has afforded me access to industry contacts I would otherwise not have met.

While of course my core mission is to market filming opportunities within the area I represent, we operate in a global economy. My County exports more food commodities to more places than any other local region in the world. We export food to more than 289 countries. Why not film?

Each of the approximately 400 AFCI members spread across more than 40 countries is interested in marketing more filming within their own jurisdiction. To be competitive and remain relevant in today’s global market for content, I see great opportunity to attract plus business from foreign productions that may want to include one or more scenes from distant locations.

With so many nations and regions offering film incentives for local production, it is important for film commissions to better understand and communicate to stakeholders why incentives are necessary to maintain or increase market share. Who better to learn this from than worldwide leaders in film production. AFCI a way to learn from others.