December 1, 2023 | Economic Development
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Katie Allison
Communications Manager
kallison@nado.org
Washington, DC, November 29, 2023 – The Eastern UP (EUP) Regional Planning & Development Commission, based in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, has received a 2023 Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) for their EUP Recovery Plan project.
The Commission drafted the EUP Recovery and Resilience Plan while also allocating staff and resources and providing overall management of the CARES Act grant, the primary funding source of the planning process. This recovery and resilience plan was prepared in response to the unprecedented economic impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Economic Development Administration funded the planning process to help guide communities in recovery efforts and build resilience into local economies in ways that help them withstand future economic shocks.
The plan was divided into three sections: COVID Crisis Impacts, Recovery Efforts, and Resilience Planning. Working in consultation with the Regional Economic Development Advisory Committee (REDAC), the Recovery Plan team identified several economic features that could help add resilience to the regional economy, making it more capable of withstanding future economic surprises. Additionally, planning staff used this opportunity to update the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and incorporate resilience principles into the five-year CEDS plan.
The Commission’s CEO, Jeff Hagan, says, “This plan was the direct result of an enormous amount of effort from our staff to document pandemic impacts, recovery initiatives, and how to make our region’s economy more resilient moving forward. A plan of this nature has never been done before. We want to thank our partners and stakeholders for their contributions to this plan’s development.”
NADO is a Washington, DC-based membership association of regional development organizations that promotes programs and policies that strengthen local governments, communities, and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery, and comprehensive strategies. The Impact Awards program recognizes regional development organizations and their partners for improving the economic and community competitiveness of our nation’s regions and local communities.
Award-winning projects were recognized during NADO’s 2023 Annual Training Conference held in Cleveland, Ohio on November 7-10. The 2023 class of award recipients consists of 107 projects from seventy-one organizations spanning twenty-eight states. These projects are presented in an interactive story map developed by NADO that includes project summaries, partners, and images. The map is available online at nado.org/2023-impact-award-recipients.
“NADO’s Impact Awards program provides a yearly opportunity for us to publicly commend the indispensable services delivered by our members to their local communities,” said 2022-2023 NADO President Chris Fetzer, executive director of the Northern Arizona Council of Governments, located in Flagstaff, AZ. “These projects not only made positive impacts in their respective regions, but also underscore the incredible diversity of programs and resources offered by regional development organizations that promote vibrant, resilient, and thriving communities.”
The NADO Impact Awards are presented in honor of the late Aliceann Wohlbruck who served as NADO’s first executive director for 24 years as a tireless champion for regional approaches to economic development in rural communities.
For more information about this award-winning project, contact Jeff Hagan, CEO of EUP Regional Planning & Development, at 906-635-1581 or jshagan@eup-planning.org.
About NADO
The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) promotes public policies that strengthen local governments, communities, and economies through the regional strategies, coordination efforts, and program expertise of the nation’s regional development organizations. Learn more about NADO at www.nado.org.
