Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County (EDASC)
#GSVMemberMonday Feature
The Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County, or EDASC (e-dask) for short, has been serving Skagit County for more than 50 years, working to ensure a prosperous, sustainable and equitable community for all while maintaining Skagit County’s natural beauty and quality of life. EDASC supports existing Skagit companies, and works with prospective companies on site location, workforce training, identifying access to capital, permitting, research, and other forms of assistance. In addition, EDASC’s strategies focus on improving assets and amenities within Skagit County, bolstering workforce development, assisting small businesses, and helping to develop solutions to community issues, such as access to child care.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EDASC offers its services at no charge. The organization relies on its private sector Investors, support from local municipal governments and ports, the state Department of Commerce, government contracts, and grants to fund its work. One easy way to benefit from EDASC’s services is to check out the Skagit Job Board, where EDASC Investor businesses post job openings. Currently, there are more than 700 job openings posted on the job board, and listings change frequently. It’s a great resource for current county residents or for people looking to move to the area, as well as for employers. EDASC offers many workshops and trainings that benefit entrepreneurs and small businesses, and many of these workshops are offered in Spanish to benefit the 20% of Skagit County’s population that is Latino or Hispanic. EDASC is dedicated to equitable economic development, providing services to everyone, including those people furthest from opportunity.
Leadership Skagit, a program of EDASC in partnership with Skagit Valley College, has been growing Skagit County leaders since 2004. You’ll find Leadership Skagit alumni throughout every facet of our communities as elected officials, business owners and nonprofit leaders. On May 2, EDASC will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Leadership Skagit at Christanson’s Nursery & Greenhouse in Mount Vernon.
EDASC was recently honored to become the first economic development organization in the Pacific Northwest to be accredited by the International Economic Development Council. The accreditation demonstrates the EDASC team’s knowledge and professionalism. EDASC CEO John Sternlicht not only applauds staff members for helping to achieve this designation but also the dedicated board members from around the county who have contributed their time and expertise to the organization.
We recently caught up with the team at EDASC to find out what their favorite #SkagitValley crop is. Strawberries from Sakuma Bros. Farms was the team’s first choice:
“We may be a little biased because Ryan Sakuma has been an EDASC board member for 15 years and brings us a few flats of strawberries every year,” EDASC Communications Manager Hilary Parker said, “but there is no denying that the strawberries from the Sakuma fields are divine!”
Other staff favorites include Bow Hill Blueberries, Samish Bay Cheese and Water Tank Bakery. They all sounds like delicious choices to us!
We’re grateful for EDASC‘s support here in Skagit County, working to ensure a prosperous, sustainable and equitable community for all while maintaining Skagit County’s natural beauty and quality of life. Thank you EDASC for supporting the Genuine Skagit Valley program and for allowing us to highlight you as this week’s GSV Member Monday feature!