EDC Announces 2006-2007 Officers 

The Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County (EDC) recently announced new officers for the Corporation Board of Directors for the 2006 – 2007 fiscal year.

Douglas Zemke, President of Millikin University, was re-elected Chairman. Doug McCallen, Business Resource Manager for Caterpillar was elected Vice Chair and will serve as Chair-elect, succeeding Zemke at the 2007 EDC Annual Meeting. Gary Peacock, Senior Vice President and CFO of Decatur Memorial Health Systems, was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Patrick Mohan, Executive Vice President - Tate & Lyle North America was appointed by Chairman Zemke as the final member of the EDC Executive Committee.

Other EDC Board members include Adam Mervis, President - Sol Tick, Bill Clevenger, Executive Director - Decatur Park District, Brian Peterson, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs - Archer Daniels Midland, Craig Gilson, Manager Division 3 - Ameren IP, Dave Wolfe, Chairman - Macon County Board, Don Robinson, Mayor - Village of Mt. Zion, Harold “Hap” Gilbert, Mayor - Village of Forsyth, Jay Dunn, President - Decatur Building and Construction Trades, John Piraino, President - Macon County Township Association, Kara Demirjian, President - DemirCo Properties and Steve Garman, City Manager - City of Decatur. Gayle Saunders, President - Richland Community College and Randy Prince, President - Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce serve as ex-officio members of the Board of Directors.

The Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County is a nonprofit public-private partnership responsible for non-retail business attraction, expansion and retention efforts in Decatur and Macon County. The EDC also acts as the administrator of the Decatur Macon County Enterprise Zone #39 and the Decatur Foreign Trade Zone #245 under special arrangements with the City of Decatur and the Decatur Park District respectively.

Composed of a combination of leading private sector employers, labor, educational institutions and a variety of governmental bodies, the EDC is uniquely positioned to address the expansion and retention needs of Macon County's existing business and employer base along with prospective businesses looking in and around the Decatur area for the first time.

In the last two years alone, the EDC has worked with local, state and federal partners to access nearly $25 million in assistance to local employers. The EDC has also facilitated projects which have resulted in the creation and/or retention of over 2,200 jobs and private sector capital investments of more than $50 million. These efforts have resulted in the Decatur Metropolitan Statistical Area seeing one of the largest 18 month decreases in unemployment rates of any area in the state.