The City of Waynesboro received two Excellence in Economic Development Awards in the population less than 25,000 category from the International Economic Development Council.
The Council recognized the city for two website projects initiated in 2018.
The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Oct. 15 during the IEDC Annual Conference in Indianapolis.
“The recipients of IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development awards represent the very best of economic development and exemplify the ingenuity, integrity, and leadership that our profession strives for each and every day,” said 2019 IEDC Board Chair Tracye McDaniel. “We’re honored to recognize more than 100 communities for their excellent work, which forges new opportunities for our profession.”
Awarded a Silver award, WaynesboroBusiness.com is the city’s flagship development site and has undergone a major graphic redesign with a substantial content update to create an easy- to-navigate, graphically pleasing, comprehensive general-purpose website. The site gives access to key information by user type and offers multiple access points for each. Key information on workforce development, incentives, maps, available properties, and quality of life is included.
Additionally, the website’s partnership with two technology firms, Localintel and StateBook, provides up-to-date demographic data and business startup and building tools. Localintel offers entrepreneurs access to information they need for effective business decision-making, including industry-specific information on business climate, trends, customers, competition, and more; while StateBook provides current facts on population, households, education, and workforce, which are displayed in colorful interactive charts and graphs. Information contained in the charts, graphs, and reports in both of these new tools is downloadable in a variety of formats.
NaturesCrossing.com received a bronze award and showcases the development of a new 170-acre industrial park, Nature’s Crossing Technology Center, scheduled to be available in 2023. This special-purpose website was developed to provide easy navigation through a wealth of information for businesses looking to expand or move to Waynesboro. Using industry data as a guide, the site includes key information on the park infrastructure, workforce development, incentives, maps, quality of life, and more. Advanced information, including engineering reports, surveys, and other details are available after the user obtains a password. StateBook also provides online resources to ensure the best possible user experience with very reliable, automatically updated data.
IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. These awards honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Awards are judged by a diverse panel of economic and community developers from around the world, following a nomination process held earlier this year. IEDC received over 400 submissions from 12 countries.
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