Client Spotlight
During the beginning of October at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) 2021 Annual Conference, Excellence in Economic Development Awards were given to the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships and the year’s most influential leaders. The Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation (GGEDC) won a Gold Rank in th...
Minneapolis, Minnesota - October 11, 2021 -- Golden Shovel Agency, an economic development communications firm, is pleased to announce that thirteen of the agency’s clients received awards at last week’s International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. IEDC is the largest organization of economic development professionals in th...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ohio County Economic Development Alliance won a Silver Rank for its Ohio County Economic Development Alliance (OCEDA) Website, a project in the category of General Purpose Website of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was presented today at an awards ceremony during the IEDC Annual Conference...
YORK, NE – The Nebraska Economic Developers Association (NEDA) announced that it has awarded the Professional of the Year Award to Lisa Hurley from York Development Corporation (YCDC).
Each year, the NEDA organization recognizes two members that have done exceptional work in their jobs with the Professional of the Year award...
Meet Colleen Eddy!
Colleen Eddy has been the Economic Development Specialist at the City of Elk River for seven years. The Economic Development Authority is a public corporation empowered to undertake certain types of economic development projects. Colleen works to maintain good relationships and communications with the business community. She offer...
Meet Katie Heppner!
Katie Heppner is the Executive Director at the West Central Economic Development Alliance (the Economic Alliance), the economic development corporation that serves Wadena County, MN. Prior to that, she held leadership roles in local governments throughout Greater Minnesota. She is a proud Maverick, having earned both her B.S. i...
Meet Chuck Sexton!
Chuck Sexton is currently the President/CEO at One East Kentucky (OEK). He is charged with championing the OEK region for business recruitment purposes and working closely with partners throughout the nine-county service territory. Prior to taking this leadership role, he spent 5 years as Director of Economic Developmen...
Meet Ian Vincent!
Ian Vincent is currently the Senior Business Developer at Area Partnership for Economic Expansion (APEX). His key responsibilities include team leadership in transportation logistics, manufacturing, and workforce development. He played a managing role with NORTHFORCE.org from 2013-2018 and continues in an oversight capacity. Ian was also elected presiden...
Phelps County Development Corporation received the 2020 NREDA Organization Excellence Award for implementing a successful rural economic development program for their area.
"In addition to addressing housing and workforce issues through their GO! Home and High Demand Jobs Scholarship Programs, the Phelps County Development Corporation has had a creative and aggressiv...
The Seguin Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) received recognition for its success in bringing Continental Structural Plastics and United Alloy, Inc. into the Rio Nogales Industrial Park in Seguin.
The Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) recently awarded the SEDC its 2020 Community Economic Development Award (CEDA).
"We're super excited about this recognition," Segui...
Linda DiMario is currently an Economic Development Consultant at the Greater Irvine Chamber. She is convinced that she has always been in economic development. Whether the political area of elections and policy or influencing and contributing to the economic vitality of a community by hotel sales, tourism development, marketing, o...
On Thursday, September 17, 2020, the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and East Metro Chamber partners hosted the annual Leaders in Local Government Awards Ceremony. The Chamber honored five organizations that exemplified and demonstrated innovation, excellence, and success in local government. Nominees were selected based on the contributions wit...
Rajiv Somepalli is currently the Communications Coordinator in Marketing for Yankton Area Progressive Growth (YAPG) and has been in his role for about a year. He grew up in Yankton, SD, and lived there until graduating high school in 2004. He then moved away for approximately ten years, spending mos...
Suzette McDowell is a highly skilled marketing expert with 8+ years of experience working in both the private and non-profit sectors. She has played a key role in the successful rebranding for various organizations and has cultivated hundreds of partnerships for her clients and employers. Suzette currently works as th...
Carley Bruning is currently the Director of Business Services at Phelps County Development Corporation (PCDC). In her role, she administers the new GO! programs, works with local and regional educators and guidance counselors, administers the high-demand jobs scholarship program, engages with employers to develop programs to recruit, develop, and retai...
“I didn’t choose economic development, economic development chose me!” said Lea Gettle, Manager of Administration and Strategic Services at Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative. Growing up, Lea’s parents owned a large RV park and resort, meaning that from the age of 13, she worked every summer in the tourism industry. The...
Tom DiFiore is currently the President & CEO of National Community Development Services (NCDS). The organization helps fund EDOs and Chambers, and, since 1977, has conducted over 700 campaigns and raised over $1.7 billion in communities of all sizes in 46 states. Click here to see Tom's full bio.
Tom i...
Gerri Lawing is currently the Economic Development Director for the Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC) in South Central Texas and has served here since 2008. Gerri started her career in the Chamber of Commerce world and still has great respect and passion for what they do. From there, she took a jo...
Garry Clark is currently the executive director at the Greater Fremont Development Council (GFDC). His first economic development role was in Newberry, FL, just out of Gainesville, as a City Planner and Main Street Manager. From there, he moved to the DC area and jumped into a role as a...
Lisa Hurley entered the industry in 2006, previously working in the nonprofit world. She started at an Economic Development District. At that point, she was mostly focused on community development, but as she went through the Economic Development Institute, she discovered a love for the Economic Development side.
Lisa became involved in th...