National Award of Excellence: EDC ‘Top 5’ Recruitment Organization

EDC receives Award of Excellence in aerospace & aviation/defense development

Brevard County, Fla. (February 25, 2015) – Expansion Solutions, a national site selection magazine, has named the EDC of Florida’s Space Coast a 2014 Top 5 Award of Excellence recipient in aerospace & defense/aviation recruiting and retention.

The award recognizes economic development organizations that excel in the area of development, by successfully recruiting, retaining and/or assisting growing businesses. Winners are chosen because of the support system offered to businesses, as well as recent activity within their area.

“This was a very well deserved award given to one of the top economic development commissions in the country,” said Jeff Cornett, publisher of Expansion Solutions magazine. “We keep a file of activity throughout the year and as the file grew for the EDC of Florida’s Space Coast, we felt prompted to make the submission on their behalf for award consideration.”

Some of the biggest local announcements the EDC made during last year in the aerospace & defense/aviation industries are also the ones that led to national recognition. Successfully landing one of the largest economic development deals in the country in terms of capital investment and average wage through Northrop Grumman’s mid-year announcement, garnering $6.2 million for local companies through the G.O. Contracts program, and the continuation of Embraer’s Melbourne campus bringing with it new jobs and greater investment; this has been a record breaking year for the EDC. With a pulse on nearly all of the activity in this growing cluster, the EDC’s work throughout the year led to a spot in this national Top 5 list.

“While we were working to bring new opportunities to the workforce and companies that call the Space Coast home, we know others were taking notice,” said Lynda Weatherman, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast. “What we didn’t know was how far the message was spreading that the aerospace and defense/aviation cluster in Brevard was taking off. The nation is taking notice and it’s leading to even more opportunities.”

With only thirty organizations from across the country selected in seven targeted categories; and as the only economic development organization in the state of Florida to be awarded with this distinction, the EDC has put Brevard County on the map for site selectors and industry leaders.

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About the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC)
The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast is dedicated to attracting new business and investment and expanding existing industry throughout the Space Coast, influencing change on government laws and regulations affecting economic development, promoting the Space Coast to encourage new investment, supporting efforts of Space Coast military installations, and relaying new programs and procedures to assist manufacturing and high tech companies. The EDC is a private, not-for-profit coalition whose stakeholders are business leaders committed to the economic growth and stability of Florida’s Space Coast. Visit www.SpaceCoastEDC.org.