Wayne Area Economic Development (WAED) Director Luke Virgil has updated the community on several changes that have and will be taking place in the WAED office.
Irene (Fletcher) Mock’s final day as the Assistant Director at WAED was Sept. 29.
"Irene departed WAED on great terms but has moved into the next chapter of her life by choosing to retire. Irene has left an indelible mark on WAED and the entire community, and I feel very lucky to have shared the past six years with her. The WAED Board of Directors, Brayden and I would like to thank Irene for being an 18-year member of the WAED Team," Virgil said.
Over the past several months WAED has been working with the City of Wayne, Wayne County, and Wayne Community Housing Development Corporation (WCHDC) to strengthen the existing partnerships in the pursuit of economic development.
"The City of Wayne and Wayne County have made significant financial commitments to support the creation of an economic development department within the City of Wayne. WCHDC and WAED will be managed via the City’s new Department of Economic Development and will serve the City of Wayne and all of Wayne County," Virgil said.
On Oct. 1, Brayden Sharp and Virgil became City of Wayne employees. Brayden is the Marketing & Tourism Coordinator, and Virgil is the department head and Director of Economic Development.
Two more employees will soon be part of the staff.
Ms. Rachel Miller started Oct. 30 as the Assistant Director of Membership & Chamber Services; and Ms. Jennifer Canham will start on Nov. 6 as the Assistant Director of Housing Development.
"Even though all four of us will be City of Wayne employees, our offices will remain at 108 W 3rd Street and the phone number will still be 402-375-2240. Most importantly, all four of us will be committed to serving the City and County through economic development efforts, membership services, housing programs and tourism activities," Virgil said.
To better reflect these changes, the WAED Board has initiated a rebrand for WAED, a restructure of WAED’s membership dues for 2024, updates to the organization’s bylaws, and an overhaul of the www.wayneworks.org website. These projects are all in-progress, but staff plan to share the results with WAED membership by the end of 2023.
"While the WAED Board, our partners, Brayden, and I are very excited about the future of our organization, we are also very sensitive to the fact that these changes may make some of our stakeholders uncomfortable. If you have concerns about our plan or the process we’ve utilized, please reach out to me via email (lvirgil@wayneworks.org). Otherwise, we appreciate your support and look forward to enhancing Wayne America," Virgil said.
