Convergys and ADEDA

NS: Convergys loss sparks renewed push to save ADEDA
By Lawrence Powell, Transcontinental Media

Source: Annapolis County Spectator, December 20, 2010

[BRIDGETOWN, NS] — Another business organization has come out in support of the Annapolis Digby Economic Development Agency, singing its praises and emphasizing the need for a united voice for economic development especially now in light of the pending March closure of the Convergys call centre in Cornwallis.

The Bridgetown and Area Chamber of Commerce issued a media release following a recent directors’ meeting.

“The board of directors of the Bridgetown and Area Chamber of Commerce urges all the municipal partners to work together to resolve the issues that have put ADEDA in the perilous position that it is in now,” it said. “With no agreement in place, the hiring of (former managing director) Mike Gushue’s successor cannot be done.”

The chamber said Gushue and his staff have done a lot for the area, and it is unfortunate that the disagreement between the other funding partners and the County of Annapolis has resulted in Gushue’s resignation.

Annapolis County and Annapolis Royal both gave one year’s notice that they were pulling out of ADEDA. However, an ADEDA working group has been meeting with the county to try to resolve governance, process, and funding issues.

“It is the BACCS’s desire to see things resolved quickly so that economic development in Annapolis and Digby counties can get back on track,” said chamber president Kirk Lycett. “The Convergys announcement makes this so much more important.”

The chamber said it is adding its voice to the already announced support of ADEDA by the Central Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“The region has been through this before, with the demise of the WVDA (Western Valley Development Authority),” the chamber said. “The subsequent years without an RDA did not allow the region access to provincial and federal funding for economic development. The region’s businesses do not want to see this happen again.”

It said the loss of the governments’ investment monies puts the already hard-pressed local economy at a disadvantage when competing with other regions of the province and Atlantic Canada.