The Wayne County Development Alliance (WCDA) announced their 10th year as an economic development organization on July 6, 2016. The WCDA is a cooperative 501(C)3, public/private, nonprofit organization that provides the lead in Economic Development initiatives for the advancement of Wayne County, NC (including all seven municipalities) and its citizens through the creation of meaningful jobs and purposeful capital investment.
The Wayne County Development Alliance (WCDA) announced their 10th year as an economic development organization on July 6, 2016. The WCDA is a cooperative 501(C)3, public/private, nonprofit organization that provides the lead in Economic Development initiatives for the advancement of Wayne County, NC (including all seven municipalities) and its citizens through the creation of meaningful jobs and purposeful capital investment.
Prior to 2006, economic development efforts in Wayne County were the responsibility of the Economic Development Commission (EDC). The EDC was funded for operational purposes solely by the County of Wayne. The EDC worked closely with two area Committees of 100. These committees in Goldsboro and Mount Olive raised private funds through annual memberships to assist in a wide variety of economic development efforts. In December of 2005, the County of Wayne and both Committees of 100 agreed to merge to form one unified and cooperative organization. On July 6, 2006, the Wayne County Development Alliance, Inc. (WCDA) became the official and sole economic development organization in Wayne County.
The Wayne County Development Alliance reports to their Board of Directors, made up of representatives from the Mount Olive area, Goldsboro area, the Wayne County Board of Commissioner Designees, and the Impact Wayne Investor Designee. The 2016-2017 Board of Directors are: President, Crystal Gettys of WCDA; Chairman, Bob Kornegay of Tri-County EMC and Impact Wayne Investor Designee; Vice Chairman, Gary Smithwick of Turner Equipment Company and Goldsboro Representative; Secretary/Treasurer, George Wood from the County of Wayne. The Goldsboro Designees are: Neal Benton of BB&T; David Perry of Goldsboro Builders; Jim Daniels of Daniels & Daniels Construction. The Mount Olive Designees are: Greg Eloshway of Southern Bank, Dr. Phil Kerstetter of the University of Mount Olive; Joe Scott, Councilman of the Town of Mount Olive. The County of Wayne Designees are: Joe Daugherty, County Commissioner; Barbara Aycock, Town Administrator for the Town of Fremont; Bill Pate, County Commissioner.
Wayne County has a longstanding history of strategic planning. The commitment to creating and implementing a shared community vision has led to consistent success in their economic development program. The strategic planning process included a wide range of leaders from across Wayne County. WCDA brought together representatives from education, business, agriculture, utilities, governments, and the nonprofit sector for a series of roundtable discussions on economic development. The results of those meetings, along with staff input, are the 2016-2020 Economic Development Strategic Plan, which includes 5 initiatives:
1. Business Retention and Expansion: Increasing industry awareness efforts and participation of training programs, implementing industry appreciation events to highlight and thank the existing industries for their continued investment in Wayne County, and to research and encourage new companies to join workforce development initiatives in Wayne County.
2. Business Development and Marketing: Increase WCDA’s marketing reach among regional, state, national and international allies who assist with WCDA’s recruitment efforts, market Wayne County through e-blasts, presentations to consultants, regional alliances, and state project managers; manage professional marketing media to promote Wayne County’s attributes and attractions such as: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, web, video, print materials, and e-mails, update the WCDA website; focus on the “Triple A+ Community: Advanced Manufacturing & Automotive, Agriculture, Aerospace & Defense.”
3. Product Development: Continue to partner with Wayne County and other organizations to promote an economic development fund for product development, and special projects. Continue to explore product (buildings & sites) development opportunities throughout the county by tracking areas of growth.
4. Investor Relations & Development: Continue to update and communicate with the Investors of the Impact Wayne Campaign through: e-blasts, newsletters, post cards & social media posts on the progress in completing initiatives, objectives, and strategies of the 2016-2020 Impact Wayne Campaign.
5. Assistance Program: Provide support to new and existing businesses as well as small businesses to help ensure their success and longevity in Wayne County.
WCDA plans to use the month of July to celebrate its 10 year anniversary with Board Members, Investors, and Industries. Social media posts will be updated frequently and will expand on these events.
As WCDA celebrates 10 years of Putting Wayne County to Work, WCDA Board Chairman, Bob Kornegay, had this to say about achieving this milestone, “The Wayne County Development Alliance exists today because our county and municipal governments work to find common cause among themselves, and with the private sector for the greater good of all Wayne County citizens. It is this bond, forged by business and government, which has propelled us forward for 10 years now. This successful merger 10 years ago of public and private efforts to fuel economic growth has been regarded as a model community achievement for economic development. I believe we must continue to cultivate our extraordinary cooperative ability if we desire to accelerate our economic growth.”
WCDA President Crystal Gettys commented that, “We are very proud of the accomplishments over the last ten years. WCDA and its allies have managed to stay focused and forward thinking, I am excited about what the future holds for Wayne County; how we can better serve and support our existing industries, and attract new companies.”