A manager at the City of Orillia has been recognized for her work in economic development.
Laura Thompson, senior manager of business development, has been named among the top 10 members of the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) for 2021.
It’s the inaugural year for the honour, created to “celebrate the top 10 EDCO members and their achievements over the past year,” the council stated in a news release.
“Launched during the 2021 Economic Development Week, the themes considered were leadership, dedication, innovation, and results.”
When Thompson learned she had made the list, she was “very excited.”
“There’s a lot of great work being done across the province,” she said, noting there are more than 1,000 economic development professionals in Ontario, “so it was very humbling to be recognized.”
Thompson has been working in economic development since 2008, in addition to her time with the Orillia Area Community Development Corporation when she was in university.
She was a land-use planner with the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board before taking on a similar role with the Township of Springwater.
While there, her job evolved to include economic development.
“That’s really when I learned about the profession and it became a passion for me,” she said.
She joined the City of Orillia in 2012 as economic development project manager. Like it did in Springwater, the job evolved over the years. She took on the real estate portfolio in 2016 and has led the business development division, within the business development, culture and tourism department, since March 2020.
Part of the reason for her passion for economic development is being able to see, first hand, the results of that work.
“My career is helping the economy of the community. I get to work with some very cool local business leaders and entrepreneurs. Every day in the office is different, and I get to promote Orillia,” she said.
One of the “most rewarding” parts of the job has been working on the Downtown Tomorrow Community Improvement Plan grant program, which provides funding in an effort to promote business development and the creation of residential units in the core.
“We’ve seen such tangible results,” Thompson said. “The more people we bring to the downtown core, the more we help businesses succeed.”
The recognition from the EDCO is timely, she added, as “it’s been a challenging year for businesses and for the economic development profession that is supporting those businesses.”
Her fellow honourees are as follows:
- Dan Degazio, general manager of economic development and recreation and culture, City of Welland
- Kyra Cole, economic development officer, Caldwell First Nation
- April Marshall, economic development manager, Town of Hanover
- Sean Dyke, CEO of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation
- Karisa Downey, manager of economic development, County of Dufferin
- Jessica Linthorne, director of the Clean Energy Frontier program, Nuclear Innovation Institute
- Cephas Panschow, development commissioner, Town of Tillsonburg
- Margot Begin, director of economic development, Town of East Gwillimbury
- Karen Palmer, destination development and marketing co-ordinator, County of Prince Edward
