DeSoto EDC Receives Excellence in Economic Development Award

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DeSoto Economic Development Press Release

Washington, DC: The DeSoto Economic Development Corporation won the top Gold Award for its DeSoto Economic Development Corporation New Website & Re-branding, a project in the category of General Purpose Website of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was presented today at an virtual awards ceremony during the IEDC Annual Conference, which is currently underway.

“DeSoto’s Economic Development Corporation (DEDC) is grateful to the International Economic Development Council for their recognition of the hard work and dedication of the DEDC! Our CEO, Joe Newman, led the staff team effort to recreate the website and branding of which we are very pleased. The entire effort came as a result of being proud of the city of DeSoto and a desire to present that same wonderful city to the DeSoto business community and beyond!” said Curt Krohn, President of DEDC Board of Directors.

IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Award recognizes the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. 35 award categories honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Awards are judged by a diverse panel of professional economic and community developers from around the world, following a nomination process held earlier this year. IEDC received over 500 submissions from 4 countries.

The DeSoto Economic Development Corporation (DEDC) created a website that any site selector would want to see that is accurate and up to date. The purpose was to update and re-brand the outdated website to be more current, modern, and provide easily accessible information for Commercial Real Estate Developers, visitors, boomerang-ers, and residents alike.

CEO Joe Newman said DEDC wanted to provide the tools and the analytics so that site selectors can easily locate exactly what they are looking for. Therefore, our team constructed interactive maps specific to site selection that differentiate available properties that are zoned Industrial and Commercial or Retail and Office. The readability and ease of the site selection capabilities make it unique and innovative since it includes an interactive map for site selection that features CoStar style filters to target their search criteria and add additional layers with the Opportunity Zones Index, and the Texas Enterprise Zone Map allowing for multiple options to be considered.

“The winners of IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development awards represent the very best of economic development and exemplify the ingenuity, integrity, and leadership that our profession strives for each and every day”, said 2020 IEDC Board Chair and One Columbus CEO Kenny McDonald. “We’re honored to recognize the more than 100 communities whose marketing campaigns, projects and partnerships have measurably improved regional quality of life.”

About the International Economic Development Council

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization serving economic developers. With more than 5,000 members, IEDC is the largest organization of its kind. Economic developers promote economic well-being and quality of life for their communities, by creating, retaining and expanding jobs that facilitate growth, enhance wealth and provide a stable tax base.

From public to private, rural to urban and local to international, IEDC’s members are engaged in the full range of economic development experience. Given the breadth of economic development work, our members are employed in a wide variety of settings including local, state, provincial and federal governments, public-private partnerships, chambers of commerce, universities and a variety of other institutions. When we succeed, our members create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities, and improve the quality of life in their regions. Learn more at iedconline.org.