The Dublin business community may recognize a familiar face with new Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Amy Wright.
Wright, who is no relation to former EDC Executive Director Karen Wright, worked at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) housed at Tarleton State University. As a business advisor for the SBDC, she covered 10 counties including Erath, Comanche and Brown, with an emphasis on rural communities such as Dublin.
“I formed really good relationships,” she said about her 5-year stint working for the Northwest Texas SBDC branch.
Wright’s passion about business development started in Corpus Christi where she and her husband, Tommy, started a pool cleaning business, cleaning 70 pools per week.
“We always wanted to own our own business,” she said. But eventually she was ‘fired from her own business’ once they realized pools were not her expertise.
It was at this point in 2011 that she went to the SBDC in Corpus, and found her real passion in life: helping businesses.
“I’m an entrepreneur at heart. I didn’t know that until I started working with the SBDC,” she said.
In 2015, the duo had made the pool cleaning business profitable enough to sell and so they did exactly that and headed over to Brownwood, Dublin and then Comanche, working for the SBDC in Tarleton.
In 2020, the opportunity arose for Wright to take a position as a SBDC business advisor at Tyler Junior College in East Texas. For almost two years, Wright would commute home on the weekend to Comanche— almost a four hour drive.
During this time Wright’s experience with business development vastly grew as she expanded the SBDC into the rural areas surrounding Tyler.
“I have a real heart for rural communities,” she said.
While in Tyler, Wright was able to handle large business development including $4 million deals, but to her, the small businesses are just as exciting.
“It’s just as exciting to help that person on the square opening their new business with a $25,000 investment,” she said. “But Tyler prepared me for this job.”
After leaving East Texas, Wright moved back to Brownwood to work with their chamber of commerce for a brief time, then settled in to get down to business with the Dublin EDC.
“I’m excited about new opportunities,” she said. “I want to meet new business owners and I’m looking forward to potential growth that may be coming our way.”
The Dublin EDC is a 4B non-profit group which operates under budget and director approval of the Dublin City Council. It is funded with a portion of sales tax dollars.
The EDC makes grants and loans which encourage business facade improvements, beautification and clean up, historic preservation and other projects which benefit the community or help enhance community growth through job creation and retention. It also acts as Dublin’s business recruiting arm. When Wright isn’t busy with work, she enjoys spending time with her family including two stepdaughters, two sons, three grandchildren, four rescue dogs and several chickens. For those wanting more information about the EDC, contact Wright at dublintxedc@gmail. com or call 254-445-1919.