Mayor praises outgoing Rockford Area Economic Development Council president

Janyce Fadden

Online Staff Report

Janyce Fadden announced her resignation as president of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC) Wednesday, Feb. 20, telling the board she is resigning to move closer to family.

Fadden had led the council for nearly eight years. The board is now interviewing candidates for her replacement.

In a press release Feb. 20, Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey (I) praised Fadden’s efforts over the past eight years to bring economic development to Rockford.

“I personally want to congratulate Janyce on her many years of outstanding leadership at the helm of the RAEDC,” Morrissey said in the release. “Our region has benefited directly from her ability to support significant wins in the economic development arena.

“Janyce and her team at the RAEDC and EIGERlab have been critical to the success of projects like the Lowe’s Distribution Warehouse, the expansion of Woodward Governor, and the investments we have made in training and entrepreneurship to support and grow businesses like BE Aerospace,” Morrissey added.

Fadden’s tenure began roughly around the same time Morrissey was first elected mayor in 2005. According to the press release from the city, Morrissey was inspired by Fadden’s experience and knowledge of business, and “realigned his government to more closely parallel the process improvements initiatives found in business.”

“Janyce personally invested her time with many of our managers to show them how to map processes, identify issues and problems, and how to marry the needs of a local government with the needs of a business,” Morrissey said. “She was directly involved in work that allowed our Building Division to become more ‘user-friendly’ to developers and architects and she spent countless hours working on RockStat.”

In recent years, Fadden worked with the City of Rockford, supporting the Economic Development Education and Entrepreneurship Network (EDEEN).

She also worked to identify best practices and expertise to grow the region’s capacity to succeed in a 21st-century economy, working with site selection experts like Angelos Angelou and Ed Morrison of Purdue University Center for Regional Development. Both experts brought advice and direction to the Rockford area to help align local assets and strategic initiatives.

“Janyce supported our belief that economic development is more than just bricks and mortar,” Morrissey said. “It is the people, the government, the arts; it is the community. We are excited for her in the new chapter in her life, but she will be greatly missed. She has been a leading member of the coalition that has helped lead our region through very difficult times.”

Posted Feb. 21, 2013