Little-known PEDYC about to unleash Creativity

The Creativity Unleashed logo.

by Caitlyn Meyer

Big change is coming to a little-known arm of the York County Economic Development Corp. The Partnership for Economic Development of York County, or PEDYC, recently reorganized to broaden its focus. Part of this reorganization places PEDYC as the implementing body for the York County Economic Development Plan. And that means it will be tasked with, among other things, getting the Creativity Unleashed branding effort into high gear.

The Creativity Unleashed committee, originally set up under the direction of Downtown Inc., signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February with PEDYC to bring the branding effort under PEDYC oversight in order to help spread the brand countywide. The Creativity Unleashed tagline was recommended by consultant Roger Brooks, who suggested branding York as America’s Industrial Art and Design Capital to capitalize on the success of many innovative and creative York County companies. PEDYC will provide administrative support to and work closely with the Creativity Unleashed committee.

PEDYC will also be in charge of the Municipal Outreach Program, a collaborative effort between the EDC and the York County Planning Commission. The program provides economic development and planning services to local municipalities. Many services can be accessed by York County municipalities for no or low cost, including municipal profiles, site evaluation, economic impact analysis, plan reviews, funding information, and other services based on community requests.

By working with local communities and organizations, PEDYC recognized an opportunity as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to serve as a fiscal sponsor to community and economic development projects across the county. Organizations without nonprofit status can save time and money by using PEDYC for fiscal sponsorship. Groups interested in fiscal sponsorship must submit an application to PEDYC and relate their project to the York County Economic Development Plan’s goals and strategies.

The Partnership for Economic Development of York County seeks to act as a public tool to facilitate industrial and economic development throughout our communities. For more information about PEDYC activities, please contact Wilda Alessi, Manager, Business Development at the EDC (walessi@ycedc.org).

Caitlyn Meyer is the business development coordinator for the York County Economic Development Corp. She coordinates YCEDC activities related to the York County Economic Development Plan, seeks to work with local governments through the Municipal Outreach Program and works on business retention. Caitlyn earned her bachelor’s degree in history from York College of Pennsylvania in 2009 and has been with YCEDC since that time. Caitlyn lives and works in York City. She can be reached at cmeyer@ycedc.org or 717-846-8879, ext. 3053.