Va. Economic Developers Assoc. announces award recipients

The Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA) announced Tuesday the recipients of its 2020 Community Economic Development Awards (CEDA): the city of Harrisonburg for its Bricks & Clicks Initiative and a regional economic development collaboration among Pittsylvania County, Danville and the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance.

CEDA awards are given to economic and community development projects and are judged on factors including innovation, transferability, community commitment and benefits.

The city of Harrisonburg developed Bricks & Clicks, which was designed to help “plateauing” downtown retail businesses to increase their sales and improve customer traffic. The four-phase project included retail market analysis, surveys, seminars and business consultations. Since the initiative began, 24 businesses received one-on-one assistance and 10 were awarded grants. Of the businesses awarded grants, 68 jobs were retained and 11 jobs were created. Sales were up approximately 17% from the year before. 

Pittsylvania County, Danville and the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance were recognized for creating a long-term plan to regain jobs and investment in the region. The plan includes collaboration framework, regional agreements, financing and incentives.  Under the plan, the region has won workforce projects including Morgan Olson, Porcher Industries, Harlow, Gefertec and Aerofarms.

The VEDA is a member-based association that works to provide professional services for economic development in Virginia. Founded in 1982, it offers training and networking opportunities and acts as a voice for more than 520 economic development professionals in the state.

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