The Tennessee Economic Development Council recently held an East Tennessee Regional meeting at Oak Ridge National Labs The event drew a crowd of over 40 members who received an overview of Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL) and were able to tour some of the highly acclaimed research and development facilities there.  Daryl Brady, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Community Tectonics Architects, coordinated the regional meeting. “I was pleased with the number of TEDC members participating and the quality of the information they gained,” said Brady.

Tom Ballard, Director of Economic Development and Partnerships for Oak Ridge National Labs, provided an overview of ORNL during lunch. Mr. Ballard pointed out that ORNL contains the nation’s largest science facility and is the nation’s largest energy laboratory with a key role in bioenergy research and development.

ORNL is seeking strategic alliances with economic development groups in the southeastern U.S. They frequently host companies and economic development groups who want to leverage the intellectual power of ORNL researchers. 

After lunch TEDC members were given a guided tour of the National Center for Computational Sciences, Everest Visualization Lab and the Spallation Neutron Source. Members were also able to see the progress of the revitalization efforts across the ORNL campus and the new technology park under development.

TEDC is the statewide organization for both public and private sector professionals involved in economic development.  There are currently more than 340 TEDC members.  Regional TEDC meetings were implemented last year to allow members in the three regions to have easy access to professional development activities without having to travel across the state.  These popular meetings also allow members to network with economic development professionals in the region while learning about the latest economic development tools and opportunities.  For more information about the organization or about upcoming events visit www.TEDC-ecdev.org or contact Suzie Lusk at 615.256.5141.

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