More than 700 people are expected to attend the LVEDC 2018 Annual Meeting at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. This photo is from last year’s event, which was held in the same location.

More than 700 people are expected to attend the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) 2019 Annual Meeting tonight.

LVEDC plans to highlight several economic success stories from the past year and look ahead to new initiative and projects for the future, including a new marketing campaign that will be unveiled for the first time at tonight’s event.

This new campaign, anchored around the phrase “Made Possible in Lehigh Valley,” is unlike any initiative LVEDC has ever undertaken; one that will tell the stories of Lehigh Valley companies and people alike, increase outside awareness of our region, and allow companies and regional stakeholders to utilize it to tell their own stories.

“Today’s business leaders and decision-makers are telling us they will come to where the talent is, or where they can recruit in competition with other markets,” said LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham. “That means that we need to tell a story of place: of our people, our cities, our communities, and our quality of life. Our story.”

LVEDC will also discuss the Lehigh Valley’s record-breaking gross domestic product, its ranking among the Top 5 regions in the nation for economic development, and major business expansion and retention projects from the past year. In total, LVEDC tracked 33 major projects in 2018, resulting in the creation of 4,419 new jobs and the retention of 3,306 more.

Additional details about these projects and other economic success stories from the Lehigh Valley will be detailed in the 32-page LVEDC 2018 Annual Report, which will be released for the first time at tonight’s event. It will be available on the LVEDC blog afterwards.

Visit here for more information about the 2019 LVEDC Annual Meeting. It will be held today, March 19, starting at 4 p.m. at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.