International Group Recognizes GHP For Excellence In Economic Development

HOUSTON, Sept. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) announces that the Greater Houston Partnership has once again been recognized as one of 37 economic development organizations named by IEDC as an Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO). Originally accredited in 2009, the organization was recertified by IEDC following three successful years of activity as an AEDO member.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130912/NY78535-a)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130912/NY78535-b)

"The Greater Houston Partnership displays the professionalism, commitment, and technical expertise that is deserving of this honor," said IEDC President and CEO Jeff Finkle.

The AEDO program is a comprehensive peer review process that measures economic development organizations against commonly held standards in the profession. The program consists of two phases: a documentation review and an onsite visit. Each phase is designed to evaluate information about the structure, organization, funding, program, and staff of the candidate economic development organization.

"GHP is proud to garner such a high accolade from IEDC, the standard bearer of the economic development profession," said GHP President and CEO Bob Harvey. "It's no accident that Texas has the most accredited economic development organizations of any state in the nation and that the Houston region boasts the most organizations in the state.  The AEDO recognition tells the community and prospects that GHP has attained a measure of excellence assuring that their trust is well placed, and their business is in good hands."

There are nine AEDOs in Texas and 37 AEDOs in the nation.  The nine AEDOs in Texas are: GHP, Greater Conroe Economic Development Council, CenterPoint Energy Houston, Hutto EDC, Laredo Development Foundation, Temple Economic Development Corp., Richardson Economic Development Partnership, Tyler Economic Development Council, Inc., Richardson Economic Development Partnership and Denton Economic Development Partnership.

Maintenance of the AEDO status is required every three years and is accomplished through documentation submission and/or onsite visits by a team of the AEDO subcommittee.

The AEDO honor is the latest in a string of recent accolades for the Houston region's business climate.  Earlier this year, Site Selection magazine named the Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land MSA as the No. 1 metro for corporate expansion and relocation activity. The U.S. Department of Commerce cited the region as the largest export market in the country while Business Insider named Houston as the "Best City in America."

The International Economic Development Council is the largest membership association serving economic and community development professionals in North America. With more than 4,000 members nationwide and abroad, IEDC offers the economic development profession one source for information and professional development, one voice for the profession and one force for advocacy. For more information on IEDC or the AEDO Program, visit www.iedconline.org.

For more information on the Greater Houston Partnership, visit www.houston.org.

The Greater Houston Partnership is the primary advocate of Houston's business community and is dedicated to building regional economic prosperity. It represents 10 counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller. With more than 2,100 Member organizations, GHP represents approximately one-fifth of the region's work force.

SOURCE Greater Houston Partnership