GADC Announces Successful 2010, Honors Commerce's Hitt, Greenville's Whitworth
April 5, 2011
$251 million invested, 2,083 jobs created; County sees 7-to-1 return on investment during successful decade of work
GREENVILLE COUNTY, SC – April 5, 2011 – The Greenville AreaDevelopment Corporation, charged with promoting and enhancing quality oflife in Greenville County by facilitating job growth and investment,announced that 2010 had been another strong year for job growth, capitalinvestment, tax revenue generation and private sector support at theirannual Investor Appreciation luncheon Tuesday.
GADC President & CEO Jerry Howard and Board Chairman Jo Watson Hackl also honored Nancy Whitworth, economicdevelopment director for the City of Greenville, with the GreenvilleArea Development Corporation’s seventh annual William D. Workman IIIBuffalo Hunter Award, presented since 2004 to an individual ororganization that has had a major impact on the local economy.
Robert M. (Bobby) Hitt III, the recently appointed Secretary of theSouth Carolina Department of Commerce, served as keynote speaker for theevent, saluting the historical job- and investment-producingaccomplishments of the GADC and its partners in economic development,and promising a vigorous effort at the state level to help create evenmore good jobs and a brighter future for South Carolina.
Mr. Hitt was also presented with a special Buffalo Hunter award aswell, symbolic of his new role as chief job and investment generatorfor all of South Carolina, said Ms. Hackl in making the special presentation.
Ms. Whitworth joined the City of Greenville some 30 years agofollowing her graduation from Clemson University, where she earned anundergraduate degree in liberal arts and a master’s degree inagricultural applied economics, and has served as its economicdevelopment director since 1992. In her professional capacity, she andher staff of six oversee, promote and support business recruitment andretention initiatives, downtown development and revitalization ofcommercial areas and neighborhoods.
Throughout her professional career, Ms. Whitworth has gone far aboveand beyond the call of duty in helping ensure that positive economicgrowth – and the hundreds of good jobs and millions of dollars ineconomic contribution and taxes that go with them – are situated righthere in Greenville, said Howard in making the presentation.
A native of Abbeville, Ms. Whitworth is a recognized champion ofpublic-private partnerships for economic development, and is an activeparticipant in Greenville County and Upstate prospect presentations andevents with economic development representatives, business leaders, andstate and local government representatives.
She is credited with a leadership role in dozens of significanteconomic development projects impacting Greenville County, includingWest End Market, Fluor Field, the Peace Center, Falls Park, therecruitment of Southwest Airlines, Lab21, Proterra and more.
Past award honorees have included Morgan Harrell, former ProjectManager at the South Carolina Department of Commerce in 2009; DukeEnergy’s grant-making AdvanceSC in 2008; Willson Will Williams of theSouth Carolina Department of Commerce in 2007; Alan Daniel Young ofthe Department of Commerce in 2006; Dr. Wayne Bennett of the ClemsonUniversity Foundation in 2005; and Bob Marriott of the South CarolinaDepartment of Commerce in 2004.
The award is named for former Greenville mayor and South Carolinaeconomic development advocate Bill Workman, and has been presentedannually to an individual who is a champion of economic development, anda standard bearer for public/private collaboration in marketing theGreenville community.
In reporting to a record-setting attendance of private and publicsector leaders, Ms. Hackl noted that in 2010 the GADC worked withrelocating and existing companies to create 2,083 new jobs and attractnew capital investment of $251.9 million. Since inception in mid-2001, the GADC has announced in excess of 12,000 new jobs and $2.3 billion in capital investment in the county for projects they have managed.
Greenville County revenues from fee-in-lieu-of-tax (FILOT) agreementsgenerated by GADC-assisted companies continues to grow, producing a 7:1 return on investment for public dollars invested in the organization since the GADC’s inception.
In other comments, GADC Vice Chair Chris Riley noted that privatesector support of the organization is at an all-time high, thankingattendees from the more than 140 investor organizations now contributingto the GADC’s success.
Without all of our investor companies, the Greenville AreaDevelopment Corporation’s ability to produce such great returns for thepeople of Greenville County – in quality jobs, increasing tax revenuesand a robust and vital economy – would be severely restricted, saidRiley. Every penny our investors provide goes to our marketing budget,and every penny you invest is working hard and producing better jobsand a brighter future for our community.
The Greenville Area Development Corporation is a non-profitorganization established by Greenville County Council to promote andenhance the economic growth and development of Greenville County. Forinformation, visit them at www.GoGADC.com or call (864) 235-2008.
