PEDA Priorities for Pennsylvania Economic Development

Following an April 20th vote by its Board of Directors, the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association ("PEDA") has announced its FY2020-21 Advocacy Priorities.

Annually, PEDA prioritizes the programs and policies that are key to Pennsylvania’s economic growth and local communities’ competitiveness, so that the organization can support the state’s existing businesses and attract new ones. As a result of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 crisis, PEDA understands this year’s legislative process will be unlike any it has seen in modern times and has focused its advocacy efforts on securing the programs, funding and flexibility that will enable its members to pave a path that will allow our business community to stabilize, recover and return to prosperity as quickly as possible.

The top 3 priorities, which are outlined in great detail at the document linked above, are as follows:

About Pennsylvania Economic Development Association

PEDA's mission is to promote sound economic development policies, provide leading-edge economic development education and nurture an effective statewide economic development network to foster the economic growth of the Commonwealth.

A COVID-19 Supplement to the April 2020 Advocacy report, provided by Alex Rahn of Wanner Associates, is now available on the Members Only Legislative Reports page of PEDA’s website. Please use your membership credentials to gain access.

A COVID-19 Supplement to the April 2020 Advocacy report, provided by Alex Rahn of Wanner Associates, is now available on the Members Only Legislative Reports page of PEDA’s website. Please use your membership credentials to gain access.

The April 2020 Advocacy report, provided by Alex Rahn of Wanner Associates, is now available on the Members Only Legislative Reports page of PEDA’s website. Please use your membership credentials to gain access.

The March 2020 Advocacy report, provided by Alex Rahn of Wanner Associates, is now available on the Members Only Legislative Reports page of PEDA’s website. Please use your membership credentials to gain access.

It has come to our attention that at least a few members of PEDA have recently received emails, purported to be from PEDA President Mike Grigalonis, requesting gift card codes or donations. Although these emails may appear to be legitimate, they are a scam.  

It appears the sender of these emails harvested information from the public-facing Board of Directors page of PEDA's website and then used it to create fake email accounts that appear to be associated with Mike. In some cases, the email addresses had no apparent connection to Mike or his organization while, in others, the email address used referenced his name, but used a random domain (i.e., not @ccedcpa.com). To the best of our knowledge, the only recipients of these emails were Board members whose contact information was listed on the same public-facing page. With this said, other public-facing pages of the website - which could be targeted in the same way - include those with contact information for PEDA committee chairs and staff. 

While some scam emails may be apparent, others may be more difficult to identify. There is also a tendency to see an increased incidence of scams during times of crisis. There are numerous online resources that provide guidance for recognizing fraudulent emails. If you receive an unsolicited email or request that you consider suspicious, please exercise caution and ensure the authenticity of the message through other channels.  

PEDA 2020 Spring Legislative Conference - Postponed 

In the interest of the health and safety of its members, partners, guests and the entire community, PEDA has made the decision to postpone the 2020 Spring Legislative Conference.

PEDA is currently exploring the feasibility of an alternative set of dates for this event, even if it means holding a modified version of the conference. As due diligence is conducted and a determination has been made, a follow-up email will be sent to provide you with additional details.

Thank you for your understanding, please keep an eye out for follow-up communications from PEDA and, above all, be well.

Consultation Sessions at PEDA

During PEDA’s 2020 Spring Legislative Conference, Hans Meeder, President of the National Center for College and Career Transitions, will be giving a keynote address focusing on key trends and dynamics in developing talent and the value of regional collaboration.

In addition to his keynote address, Mr. Meeder will be available to speak with regional teams about talent and skills development, the process for creating regional coalitions and, more generally, improving collaboration.

Time slots of 45 minutes, as listed below, are available for each of these regional team meetings. You can introduce your team members, ask questions of Mr. Meeder about how to get a coalition started, how to re-engineer and reinvigorate existing efforts in your region, etc. These meetings will be skills focused and, though no advance preparation or documentation is needed, please be prepared to talk about your region’s key industry sectors and high-priority occupations, who some of the important stakeholders are and any other information you believe would be valuable.

Scheduling Your Appointment

Regional team meetings will take place at the Hilton Harrisburg. The following time slots are currently available on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 though, if demand dictates, additional meetings may be added on the morning of Wednesday, April 22, 2020.

Appointment time slots will be assigned on a rolling basis. As spaces are reserved, PEDA will consider requestors’ preferences in an effort to best meet their needs, though no guarantees can be made. Please note that an appointment is not considered confirmed until / unless a confirmation email has been received from PEDA.

To claim one of the appointment time slots, please email Josh Skopp at jskopp@wannerassoc.com and provide the following information.

• From the following options, please list your “1^st Choice”, “2^nd Choice” and “3^rd Choice” of the time slots that would definitely work for your group.
• • Tuesday, 4/21/20             10:30 am – 11:15 am
  • Tuesday, 4/21/20             11:30 am – 12:15 pm
  • Tuesday, 4/21/20             1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
  • Tuesday, 4/21/20             2:30 pm – 3:15 pm
  • Tuesday, 4/21/20             3:30 pm – 4:15 pm
  • Tuesday, 4/21/20             4:30 pm – 5:15 pm

• PEDA will consider the individual requesting the appointment to be his or her team’s sole point of contact and any communications regarding this meeting will be sent to this individual. With this understanding, provide your name, job title, organization, phone number and email address.
• Provide the names, titles, organizations and email addresses of the other individuals who will attend the meeting.
• Please identify the region which will be represented during your meeting (e.g., South Central WIB, etc.).

Details of these meetings are subject to change.

Deb Heffner, CEcD, is the Business Outreach Director for the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (GRCA). She brings over 16 years of experience to this position, along with an incredible passion for the region.

Deb leads GRCA's Local Business Outreach initiative, which works with existing businesses to help them prosper and connect them to resources. She also serves as the primary person for all external prospect outreach, which includes attending conferences and tradeshows, relationship management and site visits. Additionally, she administers Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) loans and manages their Family Business Alliance and Building Berks initiatives.

Deb earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in 2016. She was awarded the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) Fellow designation, and currently sits on the Board of Directors of IAMC.  

As a native of Berks County, Deb has stated many times that she is blessed to work on behalf of a community she loves. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Oley Valley Community Education Foundation. Deb enjoys camping and motorcycle riding with her family, and is currently working towards the goal of camping at every Pennsylvania State Park.