How Moses Lake Became Home

It is 11 am and I am visiting the Gimmeson family for a late breakfast. Aaron and his wife Melissa call their three children to the table. As everyone sits down to eat Aaron explains how the family ended up in Moses Lake, Washington and how the Grant County Economic Development Council helped him land the job of his dreams.

His career began in the propane industry and for several years he managed a small family-owned distribution business. The business became so successful that Ferrell Gas, a national propane distributor, bought it out and transferred Aaron to Moses Lake, population 16,455.

“We moved here in 2004, and it was dead,” says Aaron. “There was nothing going on.” “I was not excited to come to Moses Lake,” agrees Melissa. She and Aaron had been living in a much larger city and Moses Lake lacked basic amenities such as retail shopping.

The economy of Moses Lake had reached a plateau. Things weren’t bad, but things weren’t growing either. This made it tough for Aaron to find propane clients. With no new business growth he was forced to go toe-to-toe with the competition to convince their clients to switch to him.

It was a hard move for everyone and it was hard work for Aaron. For the next two years he put in a lot of hours but began to see results as the business slowly grew.

In 2006, Aaron came across the Grant County Economic Development Council (EDC), a small non-profit organization dedicated to growing the Moses Lake economy. Aaron began attending the monthly meetings and learned about several large companies that the EDC was bringing to the area. These new companies were potential clients and Aaron was not about to let this opportunity pass him by.

Aaron landed contracts with the new companies and his business took off. As the companies grew, so did the community.

“The neighborhood we live in now didn’t even exist when we first moved here,” explains Aaron. “There have been hundreds of homes built here in the past three years with all the business growth that the EDC brought to town.”

Homes weren’t the only things built. As the population grew retail stores started moving in. By the end of 2008 a new grocery store, a Lowe’s Hardware, a Walgreen’s, and several mini strip malls had located in Moses Lake. In addition, the parks and recreation department expanded its water park to include a surf machine and a lazy river.

Things were going great for Aaron and Melissa. Business was booming and the community was growing but they both felt it was time for a change. Aaron posted his resume on Monster.com and a few months later received a phone call from a headhunter. United Rentals was opening a new construction machinery rental facility in Moses Lake and wanted Aaron to be the lead sales manager. It was the perfect job and Aaron took it without hesitation.

“The EDC is directly responsible for the creation of my job,” says Aaron. “The companies that they brought to the area helped me to grow the propane business and those companies are also the reason United Rentals opened a facility in Moses Lake and hired me. I am benefiting from the new growth twice.”

As an employee of United Rentals Aaron continues to attend the meetings of the EDC so he can keep apprised of new growth coming into the area. He also recognizes that the growth benefits the entire community. Over 1,200 new jobs have been added to the Moses Lake economy since he first moved to town and the city has been revived.

Everyone finishes their breakfast and the kids go out in the yard to play. Only Aaron and Melissa remain to finish the story. Five years ago they moved their family to Moses Lake with trepidation. The community was too small for their liking and they wished to be elsewhere. Now that the EDC has grown the economy and the community, they can’t imagine raising their family anywhere else.

“We really like it here now,” says Melissa. “This is where we want to stay.”