Marquette's economic development group, the
Lake Superior Community Partnership, is taking yet another step toward accreditation with a site visit scheduled this month.
The partnership is pursuing status as an Accredited Economic Development Organization through the International Economic Development Corporation. The site visit, in which a team of economic developers and site reviewers come to Marquette and see the partnership's work, is the second step in the process to become accredited.
"When an organization receives AEDO accreditation, you become part of a network of distinguished leadership organizations in the field, a noteworthy achievement. AEDO status enables you to network with peers in the industry in ways that are unparalleled," says Amy Clickner, CEO of the partnership.
The designation can help show stakeholders, businesses and other economic forces that the LSCP is a force on the economic development scene in the Upper Peninsula and Michigan, she says.
"If LSCP earns this status, our organization will join less than thirty elite economic development entities nationally, with only one in Michigan, consisting of state and local government economic development departments and local and regional public-private partnerships that have earned the AEDO designation," says Clickner. "These are the best of the best, models of achievement in the economic development field."
The visit is planned for June 8 to 10 and will be conducted by Scott Martinez, executive director of the Hutto Economic Development Corporation of Hutto, Texas, and Jerry Stewart, workforce development coordinator for Virginia Beach Economic Development, of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Amy Clickner, Lake Superior Community Partnership
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