NESA Holds Three Day Regional Economic Development Assessment Event

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA), an economic development organization encompassing South Carolina’s northeast region, wrapped up its regional assessment event on Wednesday November 5th. The three day event featured a consultant from Silverlode Consulting who offered analysis and advice to counties within the NESA region on becoming more competitive in their responses to Requests for Information for economic development projects.

The event is part of an ongoing NESA initiative aimed at introducing economic development consultants to the region, improving the northeast region’s efforts to bring development to the area and ensuring that those who advise companies regarding location decisions are aware of the incredible opportunities presented by the Pee Dee and Waccamaw regions.

“Through events like this we ensure that the counties in our region consistently receive top-quality advice on the best way to attract new investment,” said Jeff McKay, NESA’s Executive Director.

Overall, Silverlode’s assessment of the NESA region concluded that in terms of site selection the area is very hospitable and boasts a strong infrastructure. The consultants also noted several arenas in which the region could improve and discussed ways to achieve success on those fronts.

“We’ve come a long way in a short while, but there is always room for improvement,” McKay said. “I look forward to working with the counties as they begin to implement the steps we discussed over the past three days.”

Cherry McCoy, Chesterfield County’s Economic Development Director, expressed her intention to incorporate the lessons learned at the event into her county’s operations. “I am confident that by taking what we’ve learned at this event and applying it in Chesterfield County we will continue to improve our economic development efforts,” she said.

“I’ve wanted to participate in a program of this nature for some time and am very grateful to NESA for putting this event together,” McCoy said.

The Silverlode Consulting Corporation provides economic development solutions for public and private sectors throughout North America. The firm offers over five decades of combined experience and has worked extensively with organizations of all sizes and from a variety of industries.

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) is a regional economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in the northeast corner of South Carolina. NESA’s primary objective is to significantly enhance the quality of life for residents of the region by creating additional jobs and capital investment within the existing industry base as well as through recruitment of new companies and expansion of tourism related development. NESA’s nine member counties are Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg.