This week, localities nationwide recognized the work economic developers do to create vibrant communities with strong economies during National Economic Development Week, which runs from May 9 to 15.
Locally, economic officials have powered through an unprecedented pandemic and still assisted in company expansions and openings, provided grants to businesses and helped them retain their workforce.
In 2020, the Lynchburg Office of Economic Development and Tourism assisted multiple companies, including Bausch + Lomb, which invested more than $35 million to expand its manufacturing facility to provide U.S. distribution for its contact lens products and create 79 new jobs over the next five years.
In January 2020, Flowers Foods, one of the nationâs largest producers of packaged baked foods, announced a $25 million investment to expand and transform its Lynchburg bakery into an organic facility, creating 15 new jobs. The bakery, which the company has operated for more than 40 years