FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCEDP Board of Directors Selects Kristal Painter as the new Executive Director

Current Executive Director Zachary Brown will be stepping down from OCEDP as he has accepted a new position. A hiring process to replace Brown has taken place by the Board of Directors and Kristal Painter was selected to succeed Brown moving forward. Kristal has been a leader in the Orange County community during her ten-year career at Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit French Lick West Baden) and has been apart of and watched the successful pattern of economic growth unfold. Painter began her tenure with OCCVB as the Finance Manager, eventually taking on the additional role of Group Engagement Manager and has served as Executive Director for the past three years. OCCVB is the Destination Marketing Organization for Orange County, providing Painter with extensive experience working to attract leisure and travel markets, as well as fostering and maintaining relationships with Orange County and state officials. During her extensive tourism career, Painter earned Professional in Destination Marketing and Certified Travel Industry Specialist certifications. Kristal currently serves on the board of directors for First Chance Center in Paoli, the advisory committee for Memorial Hospital, Indiana Tourism Association, and as President of the Indiana Foodways Alliance board of directors. She most recently served on the OCEDP board of directors. Painter has also served on the tourism committee for Radius Indiana. Over the course of her career she has been involved with many economic development projects and takes part in the Women in Economic Development cohort. "I am truly looking forward to this new opportunity to lead the Orange County Economic Development Partnership. I have had the pleasure of serving on the board of directors for OCEDP, which should assist with making a smooth transition. I have promoted Orange County extensively during my ten-year tenure with Visit French Lick West Baden, I am thrilled to continue supporting and serving Orange County, its businesses, and residents as I step into this new role. Zach has been an exceptional leader, I wish him the best of luck in his new venture, but most importantly, I look forward to working with him before his departure, as we both have a passion for Orange County and watching the success of this thriving community." Kristal Painter - Incoming OCEDP Executive Director

A note from Zach "I have throughly enjoyed my time and the position while working at OCEDP. The opportunity to be the Executive Director for an organization that really does have the ability to make a positive impact within our community is an awesome role to fill. I appreciate the relationships that I have had and will continue to have with the Board of Directors, our economic development partners, businesses and citizens within Orange County. It has been a wonderful journey as I have worked to fulfill the OCEDP mission and spur economic development within the community. I continue to be very committed to this community as a member of the County Council and am excited to also serve the community in my new career. I know that the Partnership will be in good hands with Kristal and I fully support her as she continues the OCEDP success story." Zach Brown- Outgoing Executive Director Zach is departing OCEDP once a successful transition period takes place with Kristal.

But wait there's more! Chelsey Lankford | Office Manager As of late June 2020 OCEDP hired Chelsey Lankford to fulfill the role of Office Manager. Chelsey comes to OCEDP after spending 5 years working for a local CPA office. She has great knowledge of the local and regional business climate and is a true asset to OCEDP. Chelsey holds an Associate's Degree in Business Administration. A lifelong citizen of Paoli, Chelsey has watched Orange County as a whole grow and change over time. She enjoys her current role for the simple fact that she gets to be apart of the current success story in making Orange County a better place to do business. Some of her most recent projects outside of her daily office manager duties include: the launch of our new website where she worked side by side with the developer to preview and edit content and design opinions. She has also been the moderator for all marketing efforts. We are very happy to have welcomed Chelsey to our team!

Have you checked out our refreshed website yet? Over the course of the past 8 months, we have worked in partnership with web design and developer Blueline to develop and refresh our new website. It has been a lot of work but our goal is to ensure that we are accessible while offering people the information they need when they are interested in relocating their business to Orange County or expanding in Orange County. The new site is also great for those who are not receiving our newsletters. You can find those archived there. You can also find a business directory that we are continuing to update in real time. If you own or know of a business that's not in the directory, hit us up and we will get it added! A huge THANK YOU goes out to our industry partner Duke Energy for assisting with their Marketing Partnership Program.

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