Two richly deserving individuals were honored Thursday evening during the EDC's Annual Awards Celebration. Rich Crotty, recently retired Mayor of Orange County, received the prestigious James B. Greene Economic Development Award. Rich Fulton, legal service partner with the Law Firm of Baker & Hostetler, was presented with the EDC Chairman's Award. The celebration took place at The Peabody Orlando.

David Pace, President/CEO of New Broad Street Companies, who currently serves as both EDC Chairman of the Board and interim CEO, set the tone for the evening. He emphasized the potential of the Metro Orlando region in leading the state out of recession and into international economic prominence. But, he remonstrated, this will only be achieved through cooperation and true partnership. "To me," said Pace, "becoming maniacal about economic regionalism is the key to our transition to excellence."

Pace's first major introduction of the evening was the individual recently hired to lead our region's economic development program of work: Rick Weddle, who takes the helm as new EDC CEO on Monday, March 14. Weddle received a warm welcome. In brief comments he said, "I truly believe this region has all the ingredients to be a winner; that is what brought me here."

Focus then turned to our award winners.

Since 1990, the James B. Greene Award has been given by the EDC to recognize an individual for significant contributions to Central Florida's growth and quality of life. This year's recipient, former Orange County Mayor Richard T. Crotty, well reflects the rich legacy of that award. He is a true community champion who has served Central Florida in the Florida Legislature, as both a state representative and senator; as Orange County Property Appraiser; and, for the past decade, as Mayor of Orange County. In that time, his fingerprints have been left on many of the most critical community achievements of three decades: from establishment of the Central Florida Research Park and the UCF College of Medicine, to recruitment of Sanford-Burnham and expansion of Darden Restaurant's corporate headquarters, to advancement of 'century decisions' ranging from community venues to commuter rail. "Those who have watched Mayor Crotty's long career selflessly serving the people of Orange County and all of Central Florida use one to describe him: tireless," said Pace.

The EDC Chairman's Award, which was first presented in 2007, recognizes an individual who has contributed selflessly to the work of the Economic Development Commission. Another Rich, attorney Richard T. Fulton, was this year's much-deserving recipient. In addition to a key lead partner role in his national law firm, Baker & Hostetler, Fulton is a long-time and invaluable contributor to the EDC. He served as Chairman of the Board in 2004, and has been an active participant on that board for over 15 years. He is the catalyst behind the EDC's Government Liaison Team initiative, a program which he still chairs; and he most recently chaired the organization's Governance Task Force, which was one of five working groups resulting from the Board-led Leadership Charter Initiative. In the words of David Pace: "What sets Rich apart for myself and so many others connected to the EDC is that he has an extraordinary inability to say 'No'. This is the guy who will take on any task, from big to small, and do it flawlessly."

One interesting outcome of the evening was the discovery that these award winners share more than an event in their honor. They not only have the same first name, Richard, and the same nickname, Rich. They also have the same middle name, Thomas. Even more uncanny, they discovered that they were born on the same day, August 30, in the very same year. A RICH coincidence!

Congratulations to our 2011 award winners and sincere thanks to all who attended. Special thanks to the EDC Governors Council members who sponsored this memorable event: CNL, Darden, Florida Hospital, Harvard Development Co., Lockheed Martin, Orlando Health, Orlando Magic, Orlando Regional Realtor Association, Siemens, SunTrust, Tavistock Group, Tupperware Brands, University of Central Florida, and Walt Disney World. Thanks also to our event partners: WKMG-TV 6, The Peabody Orlando, and AVI-SPL.

Economic development occurs in a variety of ways. While the attraction of new companies to the region generally grabs headlines, the expansion of existing local companies, especially expansions that result in additional jobs, is equally important to economy building. Two recent EDC project announcements reflect economic development success on both of those fronts.

New corporate headquarters coming to town. The American Academy of Optometry (AAO), an international association of optometrists and vision scientists headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area, has announced plans to relocate their association headquarters to Metro Orlando in 2012. The relocation is expected to create 10 new jobs within the next three years. The EDC has worked on the AAO headquarters relocation since 2009. When their move is complete, AAO will become the newest in a growing number of associations that have chosen to call Central Florida home, including; American Automobile Association (AAA), Institute of Internal Auditors, Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals, and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), among others.

Winter Park company acquires South Carolina competitor. Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of ambulances and emergency-rescue vehicles, headquartered in Winter Park, has purchased a competing company from South Carolina. The acquisition will result in the merger of operations at the company's Orange County facility, a move expected to eventually result in 105 new manufacturing jobs and over $2 million new capital investment here in Central Florida. EDC representatives worked closely with the growing local company, coordinating incentive support from Orange County and the state of Florida.