The U.S. Economic Development Administration, an agency in the United States Department of Commerce, announced this week that the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) has been designated an Economic Development District (EDD).
Matthew Erskine, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development wrote in the approval letter that “the EDA designation will serve as a foundation for future economic successes that will benefit families and businesses in the region.”
The district is comprised of the ACOG service region, which includes all of Canadian, Cleveland, Logan and Oklahoma counties.
As an EDD, the Association will work with local governments and economic development partners on implementing and updating the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and identifying and sponsoring projects that will help communities in Central Oklahoma generate new employment, retain and expand existing jobs and stimulate industrial and commercial growth.
“In the past two years, ACOG has already assisted Midwest City and Norman with attaining infrastructure improvement grants from U.S. EDA,” said John G. Johnson, Executive Director of ACOG. “The EDD designation will help open the doors for even more opportunities.
“This designation would not have happened without the enthusiastic support and participation of business, industry and civic interests in the metro area,” said Johnson. “Our staff has worked with these partners to help establish this program, and we look forward to collaborating on successful projects that will expand and grow our economic base in Central Oklahoma.”