WESTBURY, N.Y., June 11, 2009 – Area Development, the leading executive magazine covering site selection and facility planning, has announced the winners of the 2009 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards. The State of Tennessee was awarded the Gold Shovel in recognition of projects undertaken in 2008 creating a significant number of high value-added new jobs as well as investment. Silver Shovels were awarded to Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Indiana.
Area Development Magazine’s Annual Shovel Awards recognize state economic development agencies that drive significant job creation through innovative policies, infrastructure improvements, processes and promotions that attract new employers as well as investments in expanded facilities. The Gold Shovel is presented annually to the state that has achieved the most success in terms of job creation and economic impact.
For the Silver Shovel Awards, states were compared only to other states in their tier based on population. Texas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania were winners in the over 10 million population group. Indiana, Virginia, and Georgia and North Carolina (tied) were awarded Silver Shovels in the 5 to 10 million population category; and Arkansas, Alabama, and South Carolina were honored in the under 5 million population group.
Each of the 50 states was invited by Area Development to submit information about its top-10 job creation and investment projects. Only those projects that began to materialize in 2008 were considered. Based on the number of high-valued added jobs per capita, amount of investment, number of new facilities, and industry diversity, Area Development awarded the Gold Shovel to the state with the highest weighted score overall.
“All economic development agencies make significant contributions to their states, but every year there are a few standouts,” said Geraldine Gambale, Editor of Area Development. “These 11 states deserve special recognition.”
A full review of this year’s Gold and Silver Shovel Award winners will be published in the June/July issue of Area Development and is posted online at http://www.areadevelopment.com/awards
Area Development is published bi-monthly and has more than 45,000 executive subscribers. It also has a very active custom publishing group and maintains several highly visited websites. They can be reached through the main address of www.areadevelopment.com.
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