Feb 10, 2016 By Kimmi Baston executive Editor 3 min read

This year, the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council will celebrate its 25th anniversary, recognizing the benefits it has provided the Fayette County community over the years and announcing plans for the future. 

According to Fay-Penn’s website, the council provides services to clients and the community as a whole, that include local economy development, business site selection assistance, technical assistance, tourism development and workforce development. 

The council’s Executive Director, Bob Shark, said the anniversary is a momentous occasion for the philanthropic organization, which is focused on business development and subsequent strengthening of the local economy.

“Twenty-five years is a long time for a nonprofit organization such as Fay-Penn to be self-sustainable,” said Shark. 

According to Shark, Fay-Penn’s official birthdate is Jan. 16, 1991, so January 2016 marked exactly 25 years for the council. 

The celebration of the occasion, however, will be held on May 19 during the council’s annual dinner. Tickets for the event will be available soon. 

While he didn’t want to give away everything about the celebration just yet, Shark said the dinner will be a time to reflect on how the council got to where it stands today and to describe aspirations for future work in the community.

“For the anniversary, throughout 2016 we will be announcing new developments and initiatives that we are launching,” said Shark. “During our January Board Meeting, we discussed our redevelopment plans for revitalizing a building in downtown Uniontown and creating a multi-tenant office facility. We also announced development of a business Event Center at our headquarters that will serve not only Fay-Penn needs, but will also be open for use by the community.”

Shark said the council has made a significant impact in Fayette County during the last 25 years, and the celebration will also provide an avenue to recognize people who have been the ‘backbone of support’ for Fay-Penn. 

“Fay-Penn has helped to create or retain about 9,000 jobs, increased annual payrolls by almost $200 million, added over $8 million to the business tax base and generated almost $1.4 billion in new investment,” said Shark.

Through such efforts, Fay-Penn works primarily to grow Fayette County’s economy. 

It partners with government organizations, fellow economic development groups and private businesses and acts as a ‘gateway’ for anything businesses need to grow and become sustainable, according to Shark. 

“We provide comprehensive, second-to-none business development services through our staff or our partners to make our clients more competitive in a global marketplace,” said Shark.

Fayette County is one of the most impoverished counties in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, but Shark said Fay-Penn’s efforts will continue to help strengthen the county’s economy.

“[In the future] we’ll be strengthening ties with partners to form more cohesion for economic development throughout the county,” said Shark. “This will allow us to be more effective and efficient in getting businesses established here and ensuring our workforce is qualified to do the jobs that are available.”