The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

March 18, 2010

GVEDC board gets training

By Tina Alvey Register-Herald Reporter

— Jeff Finkle, president and CEO of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), spent several hours with local development officials Thursday, giving pointers and leading a discussion on economic strategies.

“Not many places can beat the major (economic) tsunami that we’re in,” Finkle said. “But you have certain advantages here (in the Greenbrier Valley).”

He particularly pointed to the resurgence of The Greenbrier resort, which has led to increased employment and a ripple effect through the local economy. Making the most of the development opportunities presented by that good fortune is now the job of the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation (GVEDC), which serves Greenbrier, Monroe and Pocahontas counties.

“We’ve been talking about what other development boards are doing, their approach to governance and how to be successful in a recession,” Finkle said of the morning session of what he described as a “combination board training and board retreat” at the GVEDC office near the airport in Maxwelton.

One topic covered was the availability of federal stimulus money for expansion of broadband service. Finkle said the Obama administration has provided West Virginia with $123 million to finance that push, and the three counties represented by the GVEDC could benefit from an improvement in the communications infrastructure.

“Also, the valley’s business leaders talk about the dedication of the local work force,” Finkle said. “We’ve talked about how you sell that to industries that might be engaged in looking at sites in this region.”

Thursday’s training session/retreat was one of only two or three that will be conducted this year by Finkle, a former deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Stephen Weir, executive director of the GVEDC, is a longtime member of the IEDC.

“Steve uniquely brought me in to assist this (GVEDC) board, to make it stronger,” Finkle said.

The result of the 2001 merger of the Council for Urban Economic Development and the American Economic Development Council, IEDC is a $5 million annual operation with 30 employees, according to the organization’s Web site. With more than 4,500 members, it is the world’s largest membership organization serving the economic development profession.

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com

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