The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation 2019 Annual Meeting at Steelstacks at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem.

For a fifth consecutive year, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) has experienced record-breaking investment in 2019.

The organization received $736,600 in private and public investment and sponsorships. The majority of support comes from private sector companies and organizations in the Lehigh Valley.

“The investment of our private sector partners has been absolutely essential to our ability to tell the story of the Lehigh Valley and compete with much larger markets,” said Don Cunningham, President & CEO of LVEDC. “It has enabled us to rank as one of the Top 5 regions in the Northeast for economic development and deliver our messages of transformation and growth to global audiences in The New York Times and Delta Sky magazine. For that support, we are truly grateful to all our partners.”

LVEDC received $527,600 in private sector investment in 2019, a record-high figure, according to Jaime Whalen, Vice President of Administration and Investor Relations and Chief of Staff at LVEDC.

The organization also received $155,000 in public investment from Lehigh and Northampton counties and $54,000 in sponsorships in 2019, bringing the combined total to $736,600. That’s an increase of more than $13,000 over the $723,115 the organization received in 2018, which itself had also been a record year, Whalen said.

Increases in investment have enabled LVEDC to pursue new strategic initiatives it might otherwise have lacked the resources for, including its increasing focus on attracting high-quality talent and maintaining a competitive workplace in the region.

“The investment of our private sector companies in the Lehigh Valley let us pursue efforts that go above and beyond just the general marketing of the Lehigh Valley economy,” Whalen said. “These strategic initiatives would not be possible without the support of our investors.”

LVEDC saw the addition of 12 new investors in 2019, who invested a combined $31,000 to the organization, Whalen said. Additionally, 14 investors increased their investment in 2019, for an additional combined $24,900.

The new investors from 2019, and those who increased their investment, include:

• Air Products
• St Luke’s University Health Network
• Bank of America
• Charles Chrin Companies
• JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Muhlenberg College
• Norris McLaughlin
• Allied Personnel Services
• BSI Corporate Benefits
• Factory LLC
• Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network
• Klunk & Millan Advertising
• New Tripoli Bank
• Baker Tilly
• Burns Mechanical
• Fishburn Realty Company
• Hanover Township – Lehigh County
• Huratiak Homes
• Kressler Wolff & Miller
• Langan
• LR Costanzo Construction Services Co.
• O’Neal Inc.
• Ott Consulting
• SAGE Design-Build
• Structural Workshop
• Veraxia Commercial Real Estate Solutions

The organization will once again be publicly voicing its appreciation for its investors, according to George Lewis, LVEDC Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

As in previous years, LVEDC will take out full-page advertisements in The Morning Call and Lehigh Valley Business in March, listing all investors by industry, as well as billboards along Route 22 acknowledging investors who have contributed $5,000 or more, Lewis said.

The mission of LVEDC is to market the economic assets of the Lehigh Valley and to create partnerships to lead the recruitment, growth and retention of employers.

Visit here to see a full list of LVEDC’s investors, organized by industry.