William McDowell New Economic Development VP

Scott Darnell, President/CEO of Paducah Economic Development, has announced the appointment of William McDowell as the organization’s new Vice President Economic Development.

McDowell is a Paducah native and a graduate of Paducah Tilghman High School. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration at the University of Evansville in 2010. His previous work experience includes that of commercial real estate analyst for SilvestriCraig Realtors in Lexington and most recently as Industrial Development Manager in the Office of Business Development within the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. In that position McDowell managed requests for proposals and coordinated with communities across the state to identify and develop industrial properties and to assemble proposals for manufacturing companies.

Prior to his current position, McDowell served as a Site & Building Coordinator for the Office of Research and Public Affairs. His responsibilities included identifying, evaluating, and marketing industrial properties across the state of Kentucky. He also managed the state’s online database of industrial properties and developed property proposals for industrial companies considering Kentucky for relocation or expansion.

McDowell recently worked with the Build-Ready Site Program of the Cabinet for Economic Development. This project involves the design and implementation of a statewide program to help communities better prepare and market themselves to industrial companies. The program encourages local economic development organizations to develop greenfield sites in order to reduce the time required for companies to locate to the community. Build-Ready then recognizes and promotes the communities and sites that can be built on in the shortest timeframes.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Will to Paducah Economic Development as our new VP of Economic Development,” said Scott Darnell. “Will brings truly valuable experience from his work with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. He also brings an innate knowledge of the community since he grew up here. That is an invaluable resource in that we don’t have to bring him up to speed on the local economy and community resources. He will be ready to get started the moment he arrives back home in Paducah. Will also will be coordinating the renewed efforts of our EntrePaducah program. We are anxious for Will to get started promoting all the excellent economic opportunities we have at our disposal in this outstanding community.”

Paducah has everything it needs to achieve economic success, McDowell believes. “I am extremely excited to return home to Paducah,” he said. “I take great pride in the work I have been doing to bring jobs to Kentucky, and it will be an honor to focus those efforts on my hometown. My wife and I have always known that Paducah would be a great place to raise our family and we are thrilled to now have that opportunity.”

McDowell will begin work at Paducah Economic Development in early May.

Information provided by PED