Iredell County Economic Development Corporation (Iredell EDC) held its Annual Meeting at the Statesville Country Club last week, bringing together leaders from across the county to celebrate accomplishments and set strategic priorities for the upcoming year.
This year’s meeting included a distinguished panel of leaders who spoke about growth trends and the shifts in the economy across the county, region, and state. Jeff Cernuto, president & CEO Princeton Communities, moderated a distinguished panel discussion featuring Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina; Caleb Moore, regional vice president of NorthPoint Development; and Kathleen Rose, president and CEO of Rose & Associates.
Iredell EDC’s President & CEO Jenn Bosser, shared highlights from the past fiscal year and distributed a copy of the Iredell EDC’s Annual Report FY2021-2022. Bosser’s remarks centered around activities and accomplishments focused on the organization’s 6 key pillars: Existing Industry, Workforce & Talent, Business Development, Product Development, Marketing & Research, Collaboration & Community.
Community accomplishments included:
- Responded to 210 project requests for information
- Launched “Iredell Ready” a new workforce initiative and secured $750,000 in funding over 3 years for the effort
- Facilitated a total of $1.3 billion in new investment, with 13 new and expanding announcements representing the creation of 904 new jobs and $784 million in investment, occupying 2.2 million square feet; and 6 new industrial development projects representing $540 million in investment, representing 7.2 million square feet
- Facilitated 33 grants, representing $42.8 million in local incentives and state funding for the support of new business expansions and public infrastructure support for product development
- Completed 126 existing industry visits, assisted 15 small business clients, hosted 3 industry leaders councils, resulting in 331 referrals
- Conducted a Business Pulse Survey with 121 participating companies to gather the viewpoints on the business climate.
Iredell EDC was recently recognized by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for a Excellence Award for the publication of the Iredell EDC Business Resource Guide. The awards honor organizations for exemplary economic development marketing campaigns, projects, and programs across 25 award categories in urban, suburban, & rural communities.
Sponsors for the event included 77/40 Commerce Center, Mitchell Community College, The Keith Corporation, Denso, Iredell County, Iredell Health, Iredell Statesville Schools, Lowe’s Companies, City of Statesville, Town of Troutman, Town of Mooresville, and Wells Fargo.
“Iredell EDC has proven to be a model organization for economic development and has demonstrated the success that can be accomplished when communities come together and work toward a common goal,” Bob Palmes, chairman of the Iredell EDC, said. “This board has been unanimous on every decision we have made since we established the Iredell EDC in 2018.”
“We are very fortunate to be in Iredell County, the Charlotte Region, and North Carolina,” Bosser said. “Our leaders are committed to working with one another to bring forth opportunities for the residents of Iredell County.”
Photo: Gretchen Carson, Laura Foor, and Matt Panik with the CLT Alliance at the Iredell EDC Annual Meeting in Statesville
