IEDC Annual Conference Recap

Today is my second-to-last day in Philadelphia at the International Economic Development Council’s Annual Conference.  While it was very muggy this weekend–hotter than Texas, in fact–the weather is now appropriately fall-like.

The sessions have been good: I’ve learned about other communities’ efforts in blending the arts and culture with economic development, I’ve heard about successful partnerships with community colleges, I’ve toured areas that are benefiting from redevelopment of their waterfront, and more.

I’ve also been lucky enough to pick up some hardware on behalf of our organization.  On Sunday evening, the Marble Falls EDC was honored with a gold medal from Atlas Advertising for being the best-performing economic development organization serving a population of less than 25,000 people.  This award was based on survey results that measured job creation and capital investment across more than 200 communities.  Tied to this award was the privilege of sitting on a panel to discuss high-performing EDO metrics.  Seated on both sides of me were economic development leaders from the State of Colorado, Indianapolis, and the State of Rhode Island, so it was quite an honor.

In just a few minutes, the Marble Falls EDC will receive a silver award from the IEDC for our web site in our population category.  I’d like to say a big “thank you” to Hunter, Joel, Justin, and Holly at EDSuite for doing such a bang-up job on our site and being patient with us when we come up with hairbrained requests for new features.

We’ve known for a long time about the great things that are being done in Marble Falls, but it is nice to be recognized on a slightly larger scale.