Economic Development Practitioners Graduate from 2016 TBEDC Training

Nashville, TN (June, 2016) - Forty-eight economic development professionals from Tennessee and seven other states graduated from the tenth-annual Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course (TBEDC) on May 5 in Nashville. This TBEDC class was the first to graduate under the coordination of the program’s new Director, Kim K. Denton, CEcD. This year the course hosted more than 25 expert practitioners from Tennessee and other states to present topics on the fundamental concepts, tools, and practices needed to succeed in a complex economic environment.

“I was amazed by the passion and commitment of this year’s class. They made it a special event for me since this is my first TBEDC to organize and it was especially meaningful to be a part of the program’s 10th annual course,” said Denton.

The TBEDC course has grown and changed over the last ten years, but at the core of the course are the concepts related to strategies for job creation and retention, developing a competitive workforce, and managing economic development organizations.

This year’s class included chamber of commerce and other local economic and community development leaders, state and regional economic development professionals and elected and appointed officials. The class also included community planners and representatives from utilities, financing organizations, and higher education institutions.

“We are proud to see economic development practitioners and community leaders from across the state and the country gather to devote themselves to learning and growing in this course. The TBEDC and our ED programs strive to help our participants with professional development and discovering new tactics to growing jobs and expanding investment in their regions, which ultimately benefits the entire state.” said Beth Phillips, Economic Development Program Leader for UT CIS.

The four day TBEDC is the foundation course for the Tennessee Certified Economic Developer (TCED) training program offered by the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services (UT CIS). The course is also one of thirty-two Basic Economic Development Courses in the country that are accredited by the International Economic Development Council.