Wapakoneta, Ohio Seeks Next Economic Development Director

Wapakoneta, a prosperous and growing community in western Ohio, has begun the search for its next Executive Director of the Wapakoneta Area Economic Development Council (WAEDC). Located on Interstate 75 about midway between Dayton and Toledo, Wapakoneta is a community of nearly 10,000 and the location of the 760-acre West Central Ohio Industrial Center (WCOIC).

The WCOIC is one of the nation’s largest, triple-certified industrial parks. It was established in 2010 as one of Ohio’s largest and first certified Job Ready Sites. It is now home to ten successful companies. The State of Ohio and City of Wapakoneta have invested nearly $8 million in industrial-capacity utilities, direct mainline rail access, and completed site analytics. Since its creation, the WCOIC has also been certified as one of CSX Transportation’s first CSX Select Sites. In addition, Wapakoneta was recently certified by the Transatlantic Business Investment Council as Ohio’s first Foreign Direct Investment Qualified Community.

In the past five years, companies have invested more than $550 million in new projects in the park­with an additional $500 million being planned. The WCOIC has also had great success in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI). Over the past five years, companies based in Japan, France, Canada and Australia have selected sites in park. Based on this FDI success, the U.S. Department of Commerce invited WAEDC to present at the 2018 international SelectUSA Summit held in Washington DC. The presentation title was “Investing in Rural America”.

In addition to a successful industrial park, Wapakoneta is home to a vibrant historic downtown filled with shops, restaurants, coffee houses, and more. It is an award-winning community selected by Ohio Magazine as one of Ohio’s “Best Hometowns” in 2011 and Realtor.com ranked it as one of the top ten “Affordable Towns Where You Actually Want to Live” in the U.S. in 2017. This year, the Smithsonian identified it as one the “15 Best Small Towns to Visit in America”. Plus, the Ohio Department of Education named Wapakoneta City Schools as one of the state’s “Excellent” school districts in 2013. Wapakoneta is a community investing in itself-currently more than $60 million in its schools, public library, Family YMCA, STEM Center, parks and public infrastructure. It is a great place to invest, work and live.

Wapakoneta is also the hometown of Neil Armstrong, Commander of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. The world-class Armstrong Air & Space Museum was opened in 1972. Since its opening, more than 2.5 million visitors have come to the museum from around the world. Wapakoneta recently hosted a 10-day celebration honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission–once again welcoming visitors from throughout the world. It truly is a small town on the world map!

WAEDC is seeking an energetic, self-motivated and experienced economic development practitioner ready to continue the success and growth of the Wapakoneta community. If you would like additional information about the position, please contact Gregory Myers, Wapakoneta Area Economic Development Council, 30 E. Auglaize Street, P.O. Box 1716, Wapakoneta, OH 45895-419.738.6807 or gmyers@whywapakoneta.com. Applications will be accepted through September 6, 2019.