At its meeting Thursday morning, the Williams County Commissioners approved hiring Matt Davis as the new Executive Director of the Williams County Economic Development Corporation (WEDCO). Davis comes to the position with more than 15 years of experience in economic development in both the public and private sectors.
Since 2009, Davis has been the Director of Community and Economic Development for Maumee Valley Planning Organization. In that position, he has worked closely with officials in Williams County on economic development initiatives and projects.
Prior to taking the position at MVPO, Davis worked as a development specialist for WD Partners in Dublin, Ohio, providing client services such as site evaluation, risk analysis and planning and zoning consultation.
Davis holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in urban and regional planning and in political science from Miami University, Oxford. He was also certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional by the National Development Council in 2011.
Davis has been assisting part-time at the WEDCO office while the coordinator position was being filled. The vacancy was created last November when Diamond Zimmerman resigned as WEDCO Coordinator. Davis will begin his new position full-time on February 2.
“We are really pleased that we were able to hire an economic development professional for this position,” said WEDCO Executive Board Chairman Darin Thorp, “and since Matt is already familiar with the economic needs of the county, he will transition into the position quickly.”
WEDCO was established in 1983 and functions as the reference and resource center for business throughout Williams County. Its mission is to attract new business to the county as well as assist with business retention and expansion efforts.
The WEDCO Executive Director is a contract employee of Williams County. WEDCO pays the county for the services, which covers the position wages and benefits. WEDCO is funded by membership dues.
The WEDCO Board consists of representatives from Bryan, Edgerton, Edon, Holiday City, Montpelier, Pioneer, Stryker, West Unity, Williams County, labor and utilities.
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