Hot Springs Metro Partnership re-accredited by international economic development organization
by March 13, 2024 5:18 pm 245 views
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) announced Wednesday (March 13) that the Hot Springs Metro Partnership has once again been recognized as one of 78 economic development organizations accredited by IEDC as an Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO).
Originally accredited in 2016, the organization was reaccredited by IEDC following seven successful years of activity as an AEDO member.
“The Hot Springs Metro Partnership displays the professionalism, commitment, and technical expertise that is deserving of this honor,” said IEDC President and CEO Nathan Ohle.
The AEDO program is a comprehensive peer review process that measures economic development organizations against commonly held standards in the profession.
The program consists of two phases: a documentation review and an onsite visit. Each phase is designed to evaluate information about the candidate economic development organization’s structure, organization, funding, program, and staff. Maintenance of the AEDO status is required every three years and is accomplished through documentation submission and/or onsite visits by a team of the AEDO subcommittee.
“We are thrilled for the Hot Springs Metro Partnership to have earned the AEDO status for a third consecutive term now. Cole McCaskill, Sheryl Staggs, and our HSMP team put a lot of work into this reaccreditation submission and process, and I can personally attest our recent final interview with the IEDC panel was incredibly comprehensive. They seemed to be particularly impressed with our advances in Workforce and Workforce Education, as well as us being recent recipients of a grant from the SHRM Foundation for that work,” said Gary Troutman, HSMP President and CEO.
Earning the AEDO accreditation tells the community and prospects that the Hot Springs Metro Partnership attained a measure of excellence assuring that “their trust is well-placed, and their business is in good hands,” according to AEDO.
“The AEDO accreditation process is a challenging test of our operations. It’s rewarding that our peers have judged us to be among the nation’s top economic development organizations,” said Cole McCaskill, HSMP VP of Economic Development.
With over 5,000 members nationwide and abroad,, the International Economic Development Council is the largest membership association serving economic and community development professionals in the world.