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I-69 International Trade Corridor Elects First Officers

The I-69 International Trade Corridor announces that it has elected its first board officers at a recent meeting at Bishop International Airport.

The Corridor is a new collaborative effort by business and local government partners from Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer, and St. Clair Counties and Bishop International Airport to utilize shared transportation assets to attract, retain and expand companies and generate jobs and investment across the region.

The board selected Margaret McAvoy, Shiawassee County Administrator, as Chair, Dale Kerbyson, Lapeer City Manager, as Vice Chair, Paul Brake, Grand Blanc City Manager, as Treasurer, and Jason Hami, Marysville City Manager, as Secretary.

"I am most appreciative of my fellow board members' support to serve in this leadership role, and look forward to working with them closely on this exciting new venture that will help to create jobs in our region," said Chair McAvoy.

The organization will be governed by a board consisting of members from 33 municipalities across the four counties (which are participating through an inter-local agreement), with support being provided by the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership and the other three counties' economic development organizations, Bishop International Airport, Prima Civitas Foundation, and additional private sector partners.

"This is a dynamic group of public and private sector partners, and now with strong organizational leadership in place, we are ready to begin efforts to collaboratively market the region which will ultimately help to generate new businesses and jobs in our local communities," said SEDP President/CEO Justin Horvath.

The organization was recently awarded Next Michigan Development Corporation (NMDC) status by the Michigan Strategic Fund, which is intended to spur economic development around commercial airports. There are only five of these designations available statewide, with four now in place, including Bishop International Airport. The other three are Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Capital Region International, and Cherry Capital Airports. In addition to providing recognition for the I-69 International Trade Corridor's marketing activities, it will also allow the communities within the Corridor to utilize additional incentive tools to encourage firms to locate here.

The I-69 International Trade Corridor's overall mission will be to market the area's airport, highway, railroad, and water port resources to businesses that are engaged in international commerce, particularly through Canada. The goal is to encourage firms to not only ship through this corridor, but to also setup manufacturing and distribution facilities here to take advantage of these multi-modal transportation opportunities.