a message from GRCA CEO & President
Cooperation and fiscal support keys to economic development success By Jim Gerlach, President & CEO, GRCA
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ne of the most important responsibilities for our GRCA team is to promote and facilitate economic development projects and initiatives in Berks County. We have an excellent team of professionals that engage in a wide variety of activities to grow our local economy from business attraction initiatives to agribusiness loans, from workforce development services to development of key industrial sites. Sources of growth and development vary greatly, and we are hard at work in connecting people, businesses and government to make growth a reality.
However, as is one of life’s truisms, GRCA is not an island unto itself. We realize that to accomplish anything of lasting value, we need to partner with our talented friends in both the private and public sectors. As for the latter, the Berks County Commissioners and their team have been outstanding partners in not only identifying critically important projects, but also in providing significant financial support to assist us in our daily work. We thank them for their support and appreciate the ongoing working relationship we have in promoting and developing the County. Additionally, Berks County is blessed with incredibly engaged companies that want to contribute their own resources to building Berks. With the financial support of 40-plus Berks companies, we are able to carry out our development mission with real results. Here are just a few examples from our work over the past few months:
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Provided outstanding professional development services to local companies in Lead Worker Certification, Supervisor Training, Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace and Excel Training.
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Provided advisory and administrative support to the Commissioners and the Tri-County Rail Committee to continue the advancement of the passenger rail restoration project in the region.
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Maintenance and promotion of a comprehensive commercial and industrial property database to market the County with site selectors, realtors and developers. (GreaterReadingSites. com)
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Management and promotion of key state- and federal-based development zones in the County, including the Keystone Enterprise Zone, Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Innovation Zone and Foreign Trade Zone 147.
In just the first four months of this year, GRCA has made much progress in moving the development ball down the field. And that progress could have only been made based on the exemplary cooperation and support we have from our public and private sector partners. They care deeply about taking Berks County to the next rung of economic success, and we should be proud of their civic commitment to the betterment of the community and its families.
Moving forward, we know that much work remains. And our success collectively will depend on public and private sector companies and organizations working together to achieve mutually Engaged with 27 businesses to connect them to local shared goals and projects within mutually shared time frames. More resources including workforce hiring, site selection and than ever, we all need to pull on the same oars at the same time, funding issues. or unfortunately our individual and diverging expenditures of Continued lead on the “Grow Together” agriculture- time and resources will only serve to slow the progress we all desire. based social media marketing campaign to connect Berks County is in the enviable position of having top business, Berks ag producers with local customers and consumers. governmental and civic leaders that contribute unselfishly to the County’s economic and community progress. But to ultimately (RebuildBerks.com/Grow-Together) realize the fruits of their hard work and commitment, we need Continued facilitation of our County’s Manufacturing to better coordinate, prioritize and implement the key initiatives. Industry Partnership — a coalition of over 100 manufacturers GRCA will continue to lead in that effort, and with the terrific focused on talent attraction, employee development and support we receive from our supporters and stakeholders, we are training and manufacturing sustainability in the coming excited about the great achievements that will certainly flow from decades. the collective efforts of our leaders. Facilitated two PA Industrial Development Authority loans for Berks County businesses on projects totaling $2.2 million.
6 COMMERCE QUARTERLY SPRING 2022
