 |  GWEDC & KDOC recruiting exhibitors for Farnborough Airshow in July The Kansas Department of Commerce and the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition will sponsor the “Kansas Pavilion” during the Farnborough International Airshow, which is set for July 9-15 in Farnborough, England. The pavilion will give Kansas aviation-related businesses a chance to showcase their products and services at one of the world’s largest aerospace shows. “This is a major event in the aviation world,” said Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George. “The pavilion will offer exhibitors a unique and cost-effective way to explore global business opportunities. There are tremendous opportunities for companies to enter or expand into foreign markets.” The Farnborough exhibition will attract more than 120,000 industry visitors. Deals worth $47 billion were announced at the last show in 2010. Kansas exported more than $10.6 billion worth of goods and services for 2011 (through November), one of the highest annual levels on record for the state. The number one export product for Kansas was aircraft and parts. “Our export activity is increasing substantially, especially in the aviation sector, and it’s really helping Kansas recover from the recession,” George said. “We want the highest level of participation possible at Farnborough.” Participation in the Kansas Pavilion includes: • Individual exhibit space for participating private sector partners. The deadline to apply to exhibit is March 1. The Department’s application form is available online at KansasCommerce.com/trade under “Farnborough Airshow 2012.” For more information, contact Tammy Nolan at Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition. Paul Allen Elected Chairman of GWEDC Wichita, Kan. (4/13/11) - The Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition (GWEDC) Steering Council elected Paul Allen Chairman of the Coalition. He serves as the volunteer leader of the public-private organization charged with creating and executing the region’s business recruitment, retention and expansion efforts. Paul Allen is the Chief Executive of the CPA and advisory firm Allen, Gibbs & Houlik, L.C. He is a past chairman of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Wichita State University Alumni Association, and Go Wichita. Allen also chaired the 2010 United Way of the Plains campaign, among many other volunteer leadership commitments. The Steering Council also elected: Other private sector steering council members are: Public sector representatives are: GWEDC is the regional public-private partnership formed by the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County and private business. It’s managed by the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce and charged with creating and executing the community’s business recruitment, retention and expansion plans and marketing the region. Doug Stanley Elected 2010 Chairman of GWEDC Wichita, Kan. (3/17/2010) – The Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition (GWEDC) Steering Council elected Doug Stanley Chairman of the Coalition. He serves as the volunteer leader of the public-private organization charged with creating and executing the region’s business recruitment, retention and expansion efforts. Stanley is the Managing Partner of the Foulston Siefkin law firm. In addition to serving as the Chairman of the GWEDC Steering Council, Stanley has served on numerous community and business boards and is currently Vice-Chair of the Newman University Board of Trustees. GWEDC investors recently re-elected Stanley to a second two-year term on the Steering Council. The Steering Council also elected: Other private sector steering council members are: Public sector representatives are: “The strength of this Coalition is the strength of its volunteer leadership, and we thank them for their time and effort on behalf of the community and companies who want to invest here,” said GWEDC President Vicki Pratt Gerbino. GWEDC Reports on 2009 Economic Development Activities Wichita, Kan. (2/25/2010) – The Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition (GWEDC) reported on 2009 economic development activities at its annual investor meeting today. During 2009, the economic development coalition closed projects with nine companies that together represent nearly 700 projected jobs, more than $37 million in projected annual payroll and more than $47 million in capital investment in Wichita and Sedgwick County. For every dollar of city and county money invested in economic development activities through GWEDC, including local incentives for these projects, the public will receive $1.70 in public benefits.* “During this very difficult recession, we were pleased to be able to work with these great companies to help them invest here, especially as we were facing so many challenges in so many industry sectors,” said Lyndon Wells, GWEDC Chairman. “We realize that every investment a company makes here during these tough economic times is valuable to them and to our community.” The nine retention, recruitment and expansion projects that GWEDC facilitated during 2009 were: Nex-Tech Aerospace, Premier Processing, LDF Properties, Airbus North America Engineering, Cox Machine, Cargill Oilseed Division, LKQ/Keystone Automotive, Liebherr-Aerospace and Document Resources. The GWEDC annual meeting was held at the Wichita Hyatt. In addition to releasing project results, GWEDC President Vicki Pratt Gerbino reported on progress toward marketing the greater Wichita region through new initiatives such as site location software LocationScout, additional industry-specific events and advertising and a focused business retention effort. “In 2009 GWEDC staff and coalition partners visited more than 100 companies located here,” Pratt Gerbino said. “We listened, tracked trends and connected them to resources to help keep their investments here.” Two new Steering Council members elected by the business investors were announced. Paul Allen of Allen Gibbs & Houlik and Doug Stanley of Foulston Siefkin were elected to a second term. Linda Brantner of Delta Dental was nominated by the Steering Council to serve a second term and Jim Ludwig of Westar Energy was nominated to serve the remainder of Pam Siddall’s unexpired term. GWEDC public sector partners include the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas Department of Commerce, and Regional Marketing Partners: Butler, Cowley, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Marion, Reno and Sumner counties, and the Regional Economic Area Partnership (REAP) – a council of 37 city and county governments. Private sector investors include more than 90 businesses that invested in the initiative and the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce that manages and staffs GWEDC. GWEDC Chairman Lyndon Wells also announced that there will be an upcoming meeting where Site Selection Group, LLC (SSG) of Dallas, will present findings from the competitive analysis of the region and recommended target industries. “We are excited to begin the community conversation about how we advance our competitiveness,” said Lyndon Wells, GWEDC Chairman. “As site selectors, these groups look at our community on multiple levels and this analysis will help us see our strengths and how to build upon those to be even more competitive.” Specific 2009 numbers from the nine projects are: The Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition is the regional public/private partnership charged with creating and executing the region’s business recruitment, retention and expansion plans. # # #
| Contacts: Tammy Nolan, Marketing Manager Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition 350 W. Douglas Wichita, KS 67202-2970 P: (316) 268-1128 tnolan@gwedc.org |
Interactive Partner: Howerton+White