The LVEDC Chairman of the Board and Board of Directors are dedicated to the Lehigh Valley and its people. They use their collective expertise to first identify problems, and then develop, advise and manage potential solutions. By doing so, they make our region stronger.

We were pleased to announce during Thursday’s Annual Meeting that Tom Garrity has become the new chairman of the board. To those of you associated with LVEDC for any period of time, Tom’s story is a familiar one.

Tom is an expert in business management consulting, having worked with many of our top businesses throughout the Lehigh Valley with Compass Point Consulting. During his speech Thursday night, he echoed his desire to “listen” to the LVEDC community, our investors, partners and community at-large, to make the region stronger.

Garrity replaces Don Bernhard, who during his two-year tenure as our leader proved to be a wise and consistent practitioner of economic development. Thanks to the work of Don, Tom is inheriting a strong, forward-thinking organization that is capable of serving the Lehigh Valley business community now and years into the future.

Our new executive officers will most closely assist Garrity in steering the organization to greater heights. We are fortunate to have such a talented, professional and dedicated group of individuals in these roles.

Elected last week were Vice Chairman Steve Kalamar, vice president of commercial lending, TD Bank; 2^nd Vice Chair, William Michalerya, associate vice president – government relations and economic development, Lehigh University; Treasurer Michael Gigler, senior vice president, senior relationship manager, Wells Fargo Commercial Banking; and Secretary Jane Long, chairwoman of the corporate, business and banking group at Fitzpatrick, Lentz and Bubba, P.C.

The many investors and partners who attended the annual gathering were able to meet our seven newest board members.

Since LVEDC’s inception in 1995, the organization has attracted a staggering $2 billion in investments in our public and private sectors, thanks in no small part to the board of directors’ investment in this organization.

We are pleased to welcome Angie Brong, global real estate manager, Air Products; Edward Dougherty, senior vice president, business and network development, Lehigh Valley Health Network; Dr. Mark Erickson, president, Northampton Community College; Mark Jobes, senior vice president, commercial loans, Lafayette Ambassador Bank; John Nespoli, president and CEO, Sacred Heart Healthcare System; Marilyn Rettaliata, former president and chief executive officer of Pocono Medical Center; and Philip Schenkel, vice president, CBRE, Inc.