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The immediate goal of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.'s new chairwoman is to develop a new three-year strategic plan. Jane Long, a shareholder at the law firm of Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba PC, took the helm of the Lehigh Valley’s leading economic development organization at its annual meeting Thursday evening at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, Bethlehem. “This is the way forward for sustainable economic growth in the Lehigh Valley,” Long said in crediting the efforts of the estimated 450 people in attendance for the region’s ongoing success. Long said, however, that the existing three-year strategic plan expires this year and that the LVEDC will return to the same consultant who helped it several years ago. Jay Garner of Atlanta-based Garner Economics will again examine and analyze the Valley’s economic and demographic landscape, Long said, as well as for the first time study how the region compares nationally. She also said she will continue the initiative of outgoing chairman Stephen Kalamar of TD Bank to develop a workforce pipeline through the LVEDC’s Education and Talent Supply Council. LVEDC president and CEO Don Cunningham, emcee for the evening, also lauded efforts of the supply council to bring the education and employment segments together for the same goal. “The biggest challenge right now, particularly in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, is the supply of workforce with the right talent and skills,” Cunningham said. “… It’s critical that we link our employers to the availability of skilled workers and ensure that pipeline continues into perpetuity.” Other highlights of the evening included: Tony Iannelli, president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, received the LVEDC’s first special recognition award for regional leadership. Cunningham noted that Iannelli, in his 20th year at the helm of the chamber, built what was a patchwork of small organizations into one of the 10 largest chambers in America. “It’s been a wonderful run …,” Iannelli told the audience, “and it’s because of all of you.” New officers of the board of directors were introduced. Besides Long, who is chair of the corporate, business and banking group at Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, the other officers are vice chairman Dan McCarthy of Lehigh Valley Partnership and a retired PPL Inc. executive; treasurer Patricia Johnson, a vice president at Lehigh University; and secretary Ed Dougherty, a senior vice president at Lehigh Valley Health Network. Four new board members were introduced: Kassie Hilgert, president of ArtsQuest; Silvia Hoffman, president of MKSD architects; Eric Luftig, vice president of Victaulic; and Stuart Shaw, vice president and chief actuary at Guardian Life Insurance. Cunningham disclosed Site Selection Magazine’s annual ranking of development which ranked the Lehigh Valley as the fifth best metropolitan market in the Northeast for the number of economic development projects in 2016. The region finished only behind the markets of New York-Newark-Jersey City, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pittsburgh and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, all larger population hubs than the Lehigh Valley. Read the original article here.