Washington Economic Development Association (WEDA) Celebrates Excellence in Economic Development & Legislative Economic Development Champion with 2023 WEDA Economic Development Awards

Washington – The leaders of Washington Economic Development Association (WEDA), Washington State’s only trade association laser-focused on economic development, awarded their 2023 Economic Development Awards on March 30 at their 2023 Spring Conference in Olympia, WA.

“WEDA’s Economic Development Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in economic development at the highest level,” said WEDA Board Chair Alisha Benson, who also serves as CEO of Greater Spokane Inc. “There are leaders across our entire state working tirelessly to recover and grow jobs and strengthen economic vitality in their communities. Seven awards honored leaders and projects that are excelling in this important work.”

The Washington Main Street Program accepted the 2023 Economic Development Award for Economic Response & Recovery. This award recognizes economic development organizations/entities/individuals that have made innovative
efforts to address the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. WEDA recognizes innovative programs, projects and partnerships that are pioneering, groundbreaking and/or novel.

Said Luke Hallowell, Economic Vitality Specialist for the Washington Main Street program in its nomination, “The Washington State Main Street Program is proud to submit this nomination because we had a front-row seat to every Main Street Community’s incredibly strong show of support and ingenuity during the pandemic. These small but mighty nonprofit organizations worked tirelessly alongside their small businesses to understand complex programs, advocate for support, find creative modifications to traditional business practices, and help local residents find ways to contribute. The local Main Street directors in these communities were lifelines to their small businesses, because the trusting relationships were already in place before the pandemic broke out. We learned from these local organizations that resiliency isn’t just about the response in the wake of a crisis, but about the strong baseline of community connections that Main Street works to build every day.”