A BUSINESS hub which has been pivotal to transforming the economy of a one-time jobless blackspot in the mid-1990s to virtually zero unemployment today has celebrated its 25th birthday.
Cookstown Enterprise Centre was established by a voluntary group of local concerned citizens in 1992, including businesspeople and professionals who wanted to regenerate the region by creating facilities and opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
A cocktail of public funding amounting to £750,000 (including a £100,000 contribution from Cookstown Council) was secured to pay for 80 per cent of the initial capital construction costs, with the company securing bank loan finance to cover the remainder.
And from humble beginnings, the centre at Derryloran industrial estate has helped reshape the economy in Cookstown and surrounding areas over the course of the last quarter century, directing thousands of people into jobs and creating workspace for hundreds of businesses.
Today, under the direction of a board which includes many founder members, owns and manages its diverse portfolio of business properties situated at six separate locations in Cookstown, providing accommodation to over 50 tenant companies.
Cookstown Enterprise Centre also develops and delivers a range of bespoke training initiatives for business start-ups and developing companies and provides direct support in the form a start-up business plans or tailored mentoring and training support to up to 200 businesses a year.
More than 120 guests representing the business community and the business support network throughout Mid Ulster attended a special 25th birthday celebration in Cookstown which included a discussion panel comprising representatives from the local business, public and community and voluntary sectors.
The event concluded with a presentation by CEC chairman Trevor Wilson to Mary Monaghan, the centre's very first employee, for achieving the milestone of 25 years unbroken service to the company. She commenced her employment as an administrative assistant and today holds the position of property manager.
General manager Jim Eastwood, who himself has been with the company from the start, said Cookstown Enterprise has acted a catalyst to stimulate business development and growth.
"We did this by ensuring that appropriate intervention took place to aid new business start-up in a region of Northern Ireland which did not benefit from foreign direct investment, with the local economy relying almost solely on indigenous businesses to drive employment and wealth creation," he said.
