The Quinte Economic Development Commission is continuing to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic landscape by adapting to grow the region economically.

The organization held its Annual General Meeting and regular monthly board meeting in virtual fashion on Tuesday.

QEDC Chief Executive Officer Chris King and outgoing Chair of the Board of Directors Brad Little started by thanking QEDC partners for the work accomplished over the last year in keeping the organization thriving.

King acknowledged that, although the pandemic did slow operations down somewhat due to partial and full economic shutdowns, there have been successes and opportunities coming forward in certain areas.

“We have to recognize that there are sectors that are hurting and continue to hurt because of the pandemic,“ he said.

“But, there’s others that, not without challenge, were able to respond and still add to the economy and make some great things happen in the region.”

King touted the progress of the manufacturing, food processing and technology sectors and the focus on continuing to support jobs and employers and boost the wealth of the area's workforce.

He also described one of their goals is to continue to promote available employment opportunities with a radio, online and social media advertising campaign, budgeted at $50,000.

Business Development Officer Vicki Bristow-Ferguson explained this pilot is intending to help identify how QEDC can assist in attracting manufacturers and other workforces.

It includes a “mini-job site” website, jobs.quintemanufacturing.com that ties into the Proudly Made in Bay of Quinte retail program and currently has nine local manufacturing businesses currently participating and describing about available positions to drive traffic to their sites.

“They then take them on to whatever platform those companies are using to hire,” she said.

“We’re not doing any hiring or applications through the website. It’s simply a portal, but it’s a way to show the amount of opportunities that are available.”

The plan this year, King said, is to hopefully get in front of business decision influencers to raise more awareness on that in 2021.

The Board of Directors also heard some good news about the Elevate Plus Military program, which prepares military families and retired military members to find work in the Bay of Quinte region by connecting employers to trained job seekers.

Manufacturing Resource Centre Coordinator Mike Hewitt told the board the first cohort of 11 participants has completed its four-week cycle that started Jan. 25 and the second cohort of 13 people are just beginning the program.

When the program was first conceived in late 2019, Hewitt noted one of the elements envisioned was to have participants take their job with them and work remotely.

“COVID came along and made everybody receptive to that,” he said.

A little more than $371,000 has been budgeted for that program this year.

Additionally, Hewitt said the 23rd cohort of the Elevate Plus Manufacturing program began its five weeks of instruction and training last Tuesday with five participants, with the next group scheduled to start on March 22.

“Our numbers are down on that, because people are staying at home, and maybe a little hesitant to go out into the workforce,” he explained.

King and accountant Kurt Gregoire noted QEDC had a good and productive year financially when it came to achieving funding for valuable programs such as Elevate Plus Manufacturing and Elevate Plus Military and a Labour Market Partnership Program.

A $1.24 million budget was presented to the board, with funding of $438,000 from municipalities.

King noted the budget may be adjusted, if or when additional provincial or federal funding will be secured for those programs or others.

Total expenditures were $1.56 million, up slightly from $1.51 million the year before, leaving a surplus of $123,400 in reserves.

$1.68 million in total revenue was also listed for the 2021 fiscal year, an approximate $184,000 increase from 2020, with around $400,000 of that being brought in from municipal partners.

Several expenses have gone down, such as meetings, travel, trade shows, etc., have gone down, according to Gregoire, as a result of the pandemic.

Also on Tuesday, the organization named Belleville realtor Tim McKinney as the Chair of the Board of Directors, replacing Brad Little after his two-year term expired.

Little will continue to stay on as part of the Executive Committee.

Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander and Ted Reid Vice-Chair and Treasurer, respectively.