The EDB had boots on the ground at the Site Selectors Guild Annual Conference in San Antonio in March. EDB Vice President for Business Recruitment Sarah Bonds joined more than 400 economic development professionals from across the U.S.

The annual event offers the opportunity to connect with the world’s top site selection consultants and location advisors.

This year’s conference was the largest in the Guild’s history. More than 60 Guild members participated, making the ratio of economic developers to site selectors 8 to 1. The conference featured various networking events, breakout sessions and presentations that covered trending economic topics. “This was a unique experience to interact and build relationships with site selectors from across the globe,” Bonds said.

Of particular interest to attendees were rousing debates over two hot issues:

• Which is most valuable in site selection – field or desktop research?
• Does location matter anymore for office projects?

“In the end, there wasn’t a clear position on either topic,” Bonds said. “It all comes down to the client and their needs.”