{"id":13413,"date":"2016-02-13T09:48:03","date_gmt":"2016-02-13T14:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=13413"},"modified":"2016-02-13T09:48:03","modified_gmt":"2016-02-13T14:48:03","slug":"huntzinger-named-to-lead-coatesville-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=13413","title":{"rendered":"Huntzinger named to lead Coatesville development"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sonia-Huntzinger\"<\/a>

Sonia Huntzinger<\/p><\/div>\n

WEST CHESTER \u2014 The Chester County Board of Commissioners, members of Coatesville Area Partners for Progress (CAPP), and Coatesville representatives of CAPP\u2019s 2nd<\/sup> Century Alliance initiative announced the appointment of Sonia Huntzinger, CEcD, as economic development administrator for the City of Coatesville, Friday.<\/p>\n

Huntzinger\u2019s appointment is the result of the agreement last October between the Chester County Commissioners and CAPP to have a dedicated economic development professional focus on economic development efforts within the city. Designated as a Chester County employee, and working within the county\u2019s Department of Community Development, Huntzinger will be based in a Coatesville office equipped and funded by CAPP.<\/p>\n

Chester County Commissioners\u2019 Chair Terence Farrell said: \u201cThe search for an economic development professional for Coatesville has resulted in the appointment of someone who is highly qualified to build upon the county\u2019s efforts to kick start Coatesville\u2019s economic resurgence. We\u2019re confident that Sonia will work alongside the many stakeholders who are committed to the same cause, continuing to result in a positive change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huntzinger\u2019s move to the City of Coatesville follows more than six years as Executive Director of Downtown, Inc. in York, where she directed the economic development programs for the city\u2019s Business Improvement District Authority and Main Street agency.\u00a0\u00a0 Additional professional experience includes two years as marketing director of the Housing Development Corporation and five years as vice-president of the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. Huntzinger holds a Certificate in Economic Development through the International Economic Development Council, and a Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Business from Muhlenberg College.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big step. It adds another level of skill, a seasoned perspective and dedicated time to an already determined team of city officials and staff, a broad base of stakeholders and the many organizations and individuals that work tirelessly for a brighter future here.”Regina Horton-Lewis, CAPP Chair, said. “With the backing of city officials, 2nd<\/sup> Century Alliance, and so many others, I know we can tackle the complex economic challenges facing our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur partnership with CAPP was the result of our belief that the addition of a full-time professional to focus on the recruitment of high impact businesses and commercial services would effectuate a positive economic change in Coatesville,”County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone added. “Bringing together CAPP\u2019s 2nd<\/sup> Century Alliance strategy and the city\u2019s backers with a person as highly qualified as Sonia, will bring many desired projects to fruition.\u201d<\/p>\n

This investment by the County reinforces the Commissioners\u2019 strategic priorities of managing growth and supporting a strong and vibrant economy. It also helps to meet the goals of VISTA 2025, the county\u2019s 10-year economic development strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results of our very first community questionnaire for VISTA 2025 noted that the city of Coatesville was one of Chester County\u2019s greatest challenges and <\/em>opportunities. Sonia\u2019s appointment, combined with the 2nd<\/sup> Century Alliance strategy, and the support of city council, businesses, civic, faith-based and non-profit organizations and county resources, will begin to tip the scales in the right direction for Coatesville,”Michelle Kichline, Chester County Commissioner and VISTA 2025 Co-Chair, said.<\/p>\n

As economic development program administrator in the city of Coatesville, Huntzinger\u2019s duties will primarily focus on marketing development opportunities in the city and supporting the existing businesses, to better position them for economic success. She will officially begin on March 21, 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking side by side with CAPP to structure this economic development initiative, and conduct an exhaustive search, I welcome Sonia and look forward to her helping us facilitate activities that will contribute to our efforts to improve conditions in our city,\u201d\u00a0Linda Lavender-Norris, President of Coatesville City Council said.<\/p>\n

“County and Coatesville officials are to be commended for this collaborative endeavor.\u00a0 WCCC will certainly support this\u00a0effort to improve the business climate and economic conditions in the City,” Donna Siter, executive director of the Western Chester County Chamber (WCCC) said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST CHESTER \u2014 The Chester County Board of Commissioners, members of Coatesville Area Partners for Progress (CAPP), and Coatesville representatives of CAPP\u2019s 2nd Century Alliance initiative announced the appointment of Sonia Huntzinger, CEcD, as economic development administrator for the City of Coatesville, Friday. Huntzinger\u2019s appointment is the result of the agreement last October between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[185,3637],"class_list":["post-13413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-coatesville","tag-economic-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}