Longmont, CO: At their Advance Longmont Economic Summit, Longmont Economic
Development Partnership awarded four Economic Development Impact Awards to
Longmont businesses and individuals in recognition of their contributions to the
economic health of the community over the past year. This year’s awards recognized
the individuals and organizations doing important economic development work in
the community, serving as catalysts for a thriving local economy through job creation
and capital investment.
The 2020 Economic Development Impact Award Winners are:
• Community Collaboration Award: 2019 Longmont Startup Week Core Team
The 2019 Longmont Startup Week Core Team completely revamped
Longmont Startup Week. They introduced new branding, brought in new
community partners, and restructured the content for the whole week. They
brought LSW attendance to an all-time high, over 1,500 people, and enhanced
bilingual access with Longmont offering the only bilingual startup week in the
entire nation. Members of the 2019 LSW Core Team included: Morgan Smith,
Longmont EDP; Corey Powers, Avocet Communications; Whitedove Gannon,
Female Entrepreneur Movement; Kelly Musick, EforAll; and Joe Long, Surge
Automated.
• Special Recognition Award: Wendell Picket, Frontier Companies
Wendell Pickett was first elected to the Board of Directors of what was then
the Longmont Area Economic Council in 2014 and would ultimately serve on
the Board for six years. In addition to serving as a Board member, Wendell
serves as a volunteer on Longmont EDP’s ELEVATE Longmont Committee, is
an active member of the Commercial Brokers of Longmont group and the
Advance Longmont 2.0 Place Working Group. Wendell’s leadership on the
ASPIRE Leadership Council has assisted Longmont EDP in policy positions
related to affordable and workforce housing. His background and knowledge
in both real estate and entrepreneurial development, specifically in the City of
Longmont, has been invaluable to the organization’s and the community’s
economic development efforts.
• Chair’s Choice Award: WestRac Contracting Corp.
WestRac Contracting Corp. entered the Longmont market in their search for
real estate for a client. One of their first stops was at the offices of Longmont
EDP where a wonderful partnership was born. The resulting development,
Front Range Campus, at Pike Road and Hover is now home to PODs,
DuroDyne, and the future expansion of Can Source, all projects resulting from
the joint efforts of WestRac and Longmont EDP. Recognizing the value that
Longmont EDP added to their investment in Longmont, and to the greater
community, WestRac made an offer Longmont EDP couldn’t refuse, investing
in the buildout of what today is the Advance Longmont Center at Front Range
Campus. Because of WestRac’s investment in the growth and future of
Longmont EDP and our community, Longmont EDP can now provide
resources, inspiration and spaces for Longmont’s business and civic leaders,
entrepreneurs, and innovators in 4,000 s.f., Class A office space with panoramic
mountain views. At the Advance Longmont Center, Longmont EDP not only
has a long-term home for itself, but also for Innovate Longmont, EforAll, and
the innovators and entrepreneurs they serve.
• Project of the Year: AveXis
On April 1, 2019, AveXis, a Novartis company, announced it had signed an
agreement to purchase the former AstraZeneca/Amgen advanced biologics
therapy manufacturing campus in Longmont and was immediately offering
positions to all approximately 150 employees previously employed at
AstraZeneca’s Boulder facility. They also began working with Longmont EDP
and the City of Longmont to pursue further expansion and the addition of
hundreds of additional new jobs in the near term. Now less than a year later
AveXis has opened its Longmont Zolgensma plant ready to produce SMA gene
therapy with more than 350 employees, and an expectation to have 400
working there by year’s end.###
About Longmont Economic Development Partnership: A 501(c)6 non-profit
organization founded in 1981, Longmont EDP is funded with both public and private
dollars. More than 120 private sector businesses join the City of Longmont, Boulder
County, and Platte River Power Authority as our economic partners. Longmont
Economic Development Partnership leads a comprehensive approach to building an
economic ecosystem that not only supports, but champions, businesses and their
owners. From world-famous brewers to smart manufacturing plants, specialized
business catalysts to world-class research facilities, our businesses in Longmont build
an economy that champions growth, prosperity, and inclusion. Our newly launched
economic development strategy, Advance Longmont 2.0, focuses on quality job
creation and business investment. We activate a powerful civic infrastructure that
identifies problems, creates innovative solutions, and implements these programs
across partner organizations. For us, Advance Longmont means doing it together.
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