Columbus Region Partners Earn Awards At Economic Development Conference

October 21, 2009

New media, an exceptional Web site and a workforce summit have earned the Columbus Region recognition from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

COLUMBUS, OH, October 21, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Acknowledging the Columbus Chamber for its exceptional new media initiative and Web site, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) presented an award to the Columbus, Ohio-based organization at IEDC's Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada, at the beginning of October. The Chamber was noticed for this achievement during an awards ceremony on Tuesday, October 6, 2009.

Columbus Region community and Mid-Ohio Development Exchange (MODE) member, the City of Dublin, received the workforce category award for their Business Education Workforce Summit.

"Furthering economic development is rarely a simple task in the best of times, and advancing the cause in the midst of a global financial crisis is nothing less than arduous," said Ian Bromley, IEDC chair. "As the consequences of the widespread economic turmoil have taken hold, we have seen our members become even more ardent proponents of economic development, flying in the face of one of the most challenging economic environments we have experienced in our careers. We proudly present these awards to the Columbus Chamber and the City of Dublin for their superior work during these difficult times."

Competing in the category of New Media and General Purpose Web site, with organizations serving areas with populations exceeding 200,000, the Columbus Chamber's entry, the "Best of Everything" DVD and ColumbusRegion.com were clear winners. Attracting new talent to Columbus takes a collaborative effort. Through focus groups, local human resource professionals, and professional recruiters telling the Chamber that, when recruiting a potential employee from outside the community, they could use some assistance in selling the assets of the community. The Chamber, with the guidance of its Workforce Leadership Council, created the "Best of Everything" video to address the needs of area recruiters. A three-minute video is also available on the site with embeddable code so employers can add the video to the recruiting section of their Web site.

In addition, the Chamber's Web site, which earned honorable mention, is a single point of entry for economic development in the eight-county region. The Chamber markets the site through an integrated approach using online and offline tactics, including trade publication advertising, direct mail, collateral materials, search engine optimization, search engine marketing and social media. ColumbusRegion.com is the front door to the region, the first source of information for site selection consultants and the only source of regional information for decision makers in regards to economic development, business expansion and retention.

For more information about the Columbus Region, visit http://www.columbusregion.com.

About the Columbus Chamber of Commerce
The Columbus Chamber of Commerce leads and supports economic growth and development in the Greater Columbus community. It supports a membership of 2,700 businesses. Learn more about Columbus at http://www.columbus.org.

About The International Economic Development Council (IEDC)
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is headquartered in Washington, DC. Its mission is to provide leadership and excellence in economic development for communities, members and partners. IEDC's professional economic development awards annually recognize excellence in the economic development profession.

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