Albany-Dougherty EDC receives international award of excellence
Economic development group recognized for development, implementation of strategic plan
Carlton Fletcher
ALBANY — The Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission brought home more hardware recognizing its economic development efforts when the EDC received the Silver Excellence in Economic Development award from the International Economic Development Council.
EDC staff showed off the award at the board’s monthly meeting Wednesday.
“The big take-away from this is that we did not receive the award for documents, we were recognized for development of our strategic plan and how it was implemented,” EDC Vice President Barbara Rivera Holmes told the board. “This award takes into consideration the process of economic development and the results.”
The Albany EDC received its award, which was presented at the 2015 IEDC Annual Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, in the Multiyear Economic Development Programming category for communities with populations between 25,000 and 200,000.
“This award is a reflection of our community,” EDC President Justin Strickland told the board. “It also provides legitimacy for our strategic planning process.”
The Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission’s development of a new strategic plan, based on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, focused on the “three R’s” of economic development: recruitment, retention and renewal.
“From localized community projects to large-scale endeavors, economic development efforts have played a vital role in the global economy,” IEDC Chairwoman JoAnn Crary noted in a release prepared by the Albany-Dougherty EDC. “As we address new and longstanding challenges, these efforts continue to take on even greater importance. The award serves as a salute to pace-setting organizations like the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission for leading the charge.”
The local EDC was honored by the IEDC in 2014 for its marketing campaign that featured the locally made “We Are Albany” and “Made in Albany” videos.
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