The Pierce County Economic Development Department has done exceptional work to address the economic impact of COVID-19, and it’s not gone unnoticed. Last month, the Washington Economic Development Association (WEDA) presented the department with the 2021 Economic Development Award for COVID-19 Response & Recovery.

The Economic Development Awards, presented March 16 during WEDA’s virtual 2021 Winter Conference, celebrate outstanding achievements in economic development and honor work done across the state to recover jobs and rebuild communities. In light of the events of 2020, the COVID-19 Response & Recovery Award was added this year, along with the Economic Development Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“It is an honor to be recognized by WEDA for the work we did to help sustain Pierce County businesses in 2020,” said Pierce County Economic Development Department Director Betty Capestany. “During very challenging economic times, Pierce County CARES programs provided vital supplies and funding to businesses, allowing them to continue to operate or re-open. We know the need is still great, and we, along with our economic development partners, will continue to offer our assistance to businesses throughout the recovery phase and beyond.”

Pierce County Economic Development was among a competitive pool of impressive award nominees from communities across the state, said Bruce Kendall, EDB President and chair of the WEDA Awards Committee. “The nominations reflected a unique array of the breadth and diversity of strong work taking place by economic developers in Washington, and we applaud them all. These projects are often complex and require extensive collaboration and creative partnerships.”

Read more about the 2021 WEDA award recipients and their outstanding work on the EDB website.