New Economic Development Organization moves forward with Board Appointees
Five members have been appointed by the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners to the new Economic Development organization’s Board of Directors, marking the next step forward for the county’s new economic development model.
Allen Bryant, Dr. John Ward, Dennis Ewald, Clint Berry and Michael Reives were officially appointed to the Board at Monday night’s Board of Commissioners meeting.
The Board of Commissioners approved the structure of the new Economic Development organization at the Commissioners’ July 10, 2017 meeting. The new Economic Development organization is a public/private nonprofit, and Brunswick County will contract with the nonprofit for the provision of economic development services. The Board of Directors will be comprised of the five members appointed by the Board of Commissioners, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners, eight representatives from professional, industrial and service sectors, and the County Manager in a non-voting capacity.
With the appointments of the five Commissioner appointees, the new Economic Development organization can continue the formation process over the next month to two months. In September, the existing Brunswick County Economic Development Foundation, which has operated separately from Brunswick County, will consider for adoption new bylaws formalizing the transition. Recruitment of an Executive Director, development of a strategic plan and fundraising campaigns can also begin.
“I would applaud the Brunswick County Commissioners and county management for taking the initiative to restructure economic development for the county, and I look forward to future success in meeting the mission of economic development for Brunswick County and its citizens,” said Jason McLeod, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Brunswick County Economic Development Foundation.
“We’re happy to see the involvement from the private sector,” added Board of Commissioners Chairman Frank Williams. “We feel like we have a top-notch board and we’re excited to move forward.”