On Jan. 21, the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission’s Board of Directors held their re-organizational meeting and elected Blair County Commissioner John H. Eichelberger Jr. president.
Eichelberger had previously served as the organization’s secretary for two terms and treasurer for two terms – he replaced outgoing president Dick Rice, a Bedford County Commissioner.
The regional economic development agency, comprised of the commissioners from Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties, along with one at-large private sector member, oversees millions of dollars in economic development funds, the commonwealth’s Keystone Opportunity Zones, or KOZs, workforce development programs under the federal Workforce Investment Act and the Career Link structure, the regional tourism program ad numerous job retention and job growth initiatives.
Eichelberger stated that he, “was honored to be selected to this position by his peers,” and that, “by working together throughout the region, each county can benefit through the success of every project and every new job.”
Eichelberger will also continue in his role as chairman of the Southern Alleghenies Regional Tourism Confederation, a position he has held for the past eight years.
Other officers elected were: Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes, vice-president; Huntingdon County Commissioner Charles States, treasurer’ and Cambria County Commissioner P.J. Stevens, secretary.
