The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) has hosted some of its biggest events on the year in the past few weeks, highlighting the year in development during its 2021 Annual Meeting as well as hosting State of the County addresses for both Northampton and Lehigh.

These events were streamed online, with no live audiences due to COVID-19 restrictions. But one of the benefits of virtual events is that anyone who missed them still has the chance to watch the videos.

The embedded videos to all three events can be found below, and they can also be viewed on LVEDC’s YouTube channel, along with various other videos, including the organization’s executive video interview series.

LVEDC 2021 Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting program reflected on an unprecedented year for the Lehigh Valley economy. One that was marred by COVID-19 mitigation efforts, temporary business closures, and remarkable economic challenges, but that also saw new development projects, important economic initiatives, and growth in key industry sectors.

“The economic renaissance of the Lehigh Valley continues,” LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham said during the program, which was broadcast live on March 16. “The first draft of a post-pandemic history with new challenges and opportunities is just being written.”

More than 20 Lehigh Valley corporate, government, and LVEDC leaders spoke during the program, highlighting some of the region’s new and exciting life sciences businesses and corporate leadership, and discussing the changes that took place in the regional economy in the past year. Various projects from the year were also highlighted in the meeting, as well as in the new LVEDC 2021 Annual Report.

State of Lehigh County

During his annual State of Lehigh County address, county Executive Phillips Armstrong discussed the fight against the coronavirus, as well as other topics like the county budget, Cedarbrook Nursing Home, farmland preservation, and changes in the election process.

“This past year was full of uncertainties, but I can tell you now that the future of Lehigh County is bright,” Armstrong said during his address on Feb. 25. “Together we can make a difference in shaping the upcoming year to be what we want it to be: a year of hope and recovery.”

Armstrong highlighted measures implemented to minimize the spread of COVID-19. These include the temporary closure of the county buildings to visitors, mask implementations and temperature screening at county facilities, a COVID-19 reporting system at the Human Resource Department, remote working for more than 400 employees, and more.

State of Northampton County

Acknowledging the difficulties faced in the past year, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure commended county officials and staff for their efforts to keep citizens safe and small businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, while also looking ahead to what he expects to be a more positive future.

“While 2020 was not a good year, I think we can all agree it won’t be forgotten anytime soon and, most importantly, despite all its difficulties, it didn’t stop us from rising to the challenge and continuing to make progress,” McClure said during his State of Northampton County address on April 13.

McClure discussed how Northampton County responded to the COVID-19 crisis, acting quickly with the county Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) to protect public health and mitigate the effects of the pandemic on small businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry.