On Monday afternoon, December 20th, city staff, friends, family and colleagues gathered at the Vista Civic Center Morris Vance room to honor and celebrate Kevins’ years of service for the City of Vista and the region.
Economic Development Director Kevin Ham is retiring on December 30, 2021, after twenty-one years of dedicated service to the City of Vista. Kevin began his career with Vista as the Economic Development Director, and immediately became the City’s Business liaison and Ombudsman, representing the city with integrity, high ethical standards, and the ability to create innovative solutions to drive economic and employment opportunities for Vista.
Over the course of his career, Kevin has been instrumental in the revitalization of Vista’s downtown and the Paseo Santa Fe corridor, and expanding Vista’s economic diversity by bringing in new tech companies, craft breweries, life sciences, construction of new hotels, a certified Honda dealership and other industries.
Under Kevin’s leadership, the City created new policies to reinvent the City’s Business Park, which has doubled in size to 14 million square feet of occupied space and consistently retains a vacancy rate of less than five percent.
Kevin was integral in the creation of Innovate78, a five-city economic development collaborative formed with the cities of Vista, Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside and San Marcos, through which Kevin catalyzed a cross-corridor partnership to retain businesses and valuable talent in the North County, understanding that Vista thrives when the region thrives.
Kevin is an advocate for the community, teamwork, and bringing people together to cultivate positive change; in 2002, Kevin, in partnership with the Vista Chamber of Commerce, launched Vista’s award-winning Vista CARES (Communicate, Assist, Retain, Expand and Support) program, which is a business retention and expansion program that has successfully led to many new companies developing and expanding in the area.
Kevin is an incredible leader and is will to do anything for the betterment of the city; as a true team player, Kevin fills in when needed, whether that is helping to paint the old City Hall, taking on projects not part of Economic Development, volunteering the the Community, and even organizing and presenting the City Goals.
Kevin has served as a leader for numerous organization and non-profit organizations, including his tenure as President of the California Association for Local Economic Development, as a board member for the California Enterprise Development Authority, and as a board member for the San Diego North Economic Development Corporation.
In 2019, Kevin was presented with the prestigious Jeffrey A. Finkle Organizational Leadership Award given by the International Economic Development Council in recognition of his dedication and passion to make communities better through the advancement of economic development policies, programs, and professionals.
The San Diego North County Economic Development Council recently created a new award to honor Kevin. The award is named the “Kevin Ham Impact Award” and will be given annually to recognize North County leaders and will provide a legacy for Kevin’s impact on the region.
Kevin’s professionalism, integrity, and commitment to public service are unmatched. He has faithfully served the City of Vista, its residents, and its businesses for the past 21 years. His commitment to the city, the community and his colleagues is unrivaled, and he will be sorely missed by all.
The Mayor and members of the Vista City Council express their sincere appreciation to Kevin Ham for his dedication and twenty-one years of service to the city of Vista and hereby proclaim December 22, 2021, as “KEVIN HAM DAY IN THE CITY OF VISTA”.
