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WEIRTON -- Pat Ford is leaving his post as executive director of the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, the organization announced late Thursday afternoon.
Ford, who has headed the local development organization since 2009, will become the executive director of the Marion County Industrial Foundation in Lebanon, Ky.
“The success of the BDC under Pat Ford’s direction since 2009 has been incredible. He has been responsible for helping us grow, not just as an organization, but as a region. In addition, his commitment to the community has been really inspirational. Although we are certainly sad to see him go, we appreciate his hard work in the Northern Panhandle and wish him nothing but the best of luck in his new position,” said BDC Chair Bill D’Alesio.
“When we came to Weirton in 2009, we were not sure what to expect, but since that time, Alecia and I have been adopted by the entire community. We have so many friends, board members and co-workers that we will miss terribly, but the position in Marion County is really a great opportunity both professionally and personally,” Ford said.
Ford plans to help in the transition of leadership at the BDC.
“Pat has agreed to stay on board at the BDC for a specified period of time to make sure all the projects in process continue with out any gaps. Fortunately, the BDC board made the decision several years ago to retain outside accounting and law firms for our regular bookkeeping, independent audits, and legal counsel so the BDC office operations will be largely uninterrupted during the transition.”
Assistant Director Marvin Six, who has been with the BDC since its inception in 1993, remains with the organization to ensure a seamless transition between executive directors as well as introduce the new director to contacts throughout the state and federal government as well as share his knowledge of the BDC’s current projects.
“Given the broad exposure of the work of Pat and the BDC, we are in the process of conducting a national search for candidates to continue the great work of the BDC,” D’Alesio said.