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Roanoke, Virginia (September 26, 2024) — The Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA) has awarded its most prestigious honor this year to Chesterfield County Economic Development Director H. Garrett Hart, III, CEcD.
The Cardinal Award recognizes leadership in economic development, outstanding professional accomplishments and exceptional service to VEDA.
Hart has spent more than 30 years assisting in job creation and increased capital investment in the Commonwealth of Virginia, highlighted by projects like Amazon, Capital One, Colonial Downs and Sabra Dipping Company. One of Hart’s most recent and notable economic development successes came this past June, when the Lego Group announced plans to bring a $1 billion factory to Chesterfield, expected to create 1,760 jobs over the next decade.
Hart began his professional career as the first Town Manager of the Town of Louisa, then becoming the County Administrator of New Kent County, Marketing Manager for the Virginia Peninsula Economic Development Council and Corporate Vice President of McKinney & Company before coming to Chesterfield.
In addition to being a Founding Member and current Treasurer of VEDA, Hart is also a past Chairman, Board Member and honorary Life Member of the Southern Economic Development Council. He holds the designations of Certified Economic and Community Developer from the International Economic Development Council.
The 2024 Cardinal Award was presented at the VEDA Fall Conference in Roanoke held Sept. 25-27.
“Hart is a tireless visionary for economic development,” said VEDA President Linda Green. “We are excited to recognize Hart for his decades of incredible accomplishments, and for his longtime leadership in VEDA and other economic development organizations and initiatives.”
Hart is a graduate of Virginia Tech and has served as an instructor for the university’s Basic and Advanced Institutes for Economic Development.
Hart’s nomination letter notes he “enjoys serving the communities he has worked for but also understands that Economic Development is a team sport. His resume is dotted with service to regional, state, and industry-specific organizations. He is passionate about training and mentoring the next generation of leaders in our industry and always looks for opportunities to tell the story of how what we do matters to our communities.”
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