The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) hosted the annual State of the Economy breakfast on Tuesday, February 27, 2024. Many business leaders, elected officials, community partners and citizens gathered to hear about AEDC’s projects and impact over the past year as well as the organization’s focus for the coming year.
Mayor Cole Stanley opened the program with a welcome and invocation. Chairman of the Board, Andrew Hall, recognized past and present AEDC board members with special recognition of outgoing board member, Lloyd Brown. He discussed the national attention Amarillo and AEDC is receiving for its growing economy. In 2023, the city and AEDC were recognized and awarded the following: Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S. by Livability, Top 20 Cities for Economic Development by Site Selection Magazine, Deal of the Year in Agri-Tech and Top Ranked Location by Business Facilities, Corporate Investment and Community Impact Award by Trade & Industry Development, and the Community Economic Development Award as well as Economic Excellence Recognition for professionalism by the Texas Economic Development Council.
President & CEO, Kevin Carter, gave an update on recently announced projects and provided a 10-year economic impact report. He recognized AEDC staff for their hard work and dedication, spotlighting Doug Nelson and Hollie Shankle for their individual achievements. Caylar Harper, Director of Marketing & Workforce Initiatives, announced AEDC’s new marketing initiative, ReRoot, which is focused on recruiting families and young professionals back to the Amarillo area.
The keynote speaker was Aaron Demerson, President & CEO of Texas Economic Development Corporation. He highlighted the success of the Texas economy which has grown $2.4 trillion and is the eighth largest economy in the world. Texas has led the nation for population growth for 18 years in a row, growing by nearly 1,300 people per day in 2023. There are currently 14,594,903 Texans working which is more than any point in Texas history. Mr. Demerson congratulated Amarillo on the 2.5% unemployment rate coming in lower than the state’s 4%.
State of the Economy is held annually and free to the public. For more information about Amarillo’s economic success in 2023, check out our 2023 Annual Report.
Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (Amarillo EDC) is the primary economic development engine of the Amarillo community, responsible for industry growth and job creation through business attraction and retention initiatives.The mission of the Amarillo EDC is to attract businesses to Amarillo which offer highly skilled, highly paid positions; to expand and retain existing local businesses in Amarillo; and to foster a business environment conducive to entrepreneurship. Learn more at www.amarilloedc.com.