SWREDA introduced the Star of the Southwest Awards at its 2017 conference in Baton Rouge, and now each year at its annual conference, SWREDA recognizes projects funded by the Austin EDA Regional Office that demonstrate significant economic impact for the community, a meaningful commitment by the private sector, and a return on investment for EDA. The SWREDA board members from each state solicit project applications and award one project which will be presented and showcased at the conference.
View the 2025 Star of the Southwest Award recipients below.
Arkansas
North Arkansas College – Center for Robotics Manufacturing & Innovation, Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District
An EDA investment of $2 million funded the construction of a new technical training facility centered on robotics manufacturing at North Arkansas College in Harrison, AR. The new facility will enable North Arkansas College to expand and enhance its existing programs, provide needed space for the new programs, and allow for partnerships with the manufacturing community to provide necessary training for its existing workforce without stopping on-site production.
Louisiana
Multi-region Partnership Planning for Designations and Development Opportunities, Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning & Development District, South Central Planning & Development Commission, and The Coordinating and Development District
A coalition of 3 Economic Development Districts in Louisiana led a planning, data collection, and advocacy effort to add 3 rural parishes: Sabine, Terrebonne, and Vernon parishes to the Delta Regional Authority service area. This has provided access to new resources, funding, and collaboration opportunities to boost redevelopment and competitiveness in the rural parishes.
New Mexico
Lincoln County Fairgrounds, Southeastern New Mexico Economic Development District
With an EDA investment of $3.2 million, Southeastern New Mexico Economic Development District has led the redevelopment and improvement of the Animal Evacuation Center located at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. This site is vital for emergency preparedness as it gives ranchers a safe place to store livestock during natural disasters like wildfires. The Lincoln County Fairgrounds will also be able to host expanded rodeo and community events as a part of the EDA improvements.
Oklahoma
Skyway36, Indian Nations Council of Governments
Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG)partnered with the Osage Nation to develop one of only three commercial drone ports across the country. Using an EDA investment of $2.138 million, INCOG will lead the transformation of an unused industrial space into the 20,000 square foot drone testing facility.
Texas
Angelo State University Aviation Training Facility, Concho Valley Economic Development District
An EDA investment of $2 million has helped Concho Valley Economic Development District construct a new training facility for the Aviation program at Angelo State University. The new facility will house education classrooms, flight simulator rooms, open study/work cubicles, and offices for the program director, chief pilot, and instructors. In addition, there are public spaces, such as a main lobby/waiting area with a recruiting lounge.
University Centers
Capacity Building Through Grant Writing, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, EDA University Center for Rural Resilience and Workforce Development
Partnering with the EDDs in Arkansas, the EDA University Center for Rural Resilience and Workforce Development has led grant writing workshops throughout the state of Arkansas. The workshops helped participants navigate grants, identify funding, and build successful partnerships. Attendees included nonprofits, officials, first responders, schools, and businesses. Training covered SMART goals, logic models, budgeting, and narrative development, with many participants discovering EDD services and partnership opportunities for the first time.
2015 NADO Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award
Economic Development Districts (EDDs) designated by the EDA, U.S. Department of Commerce, are an example of government working well. EDDs operate on a modest annual grant, leverage all of their own funding as well as the projects they help develop for their local governments and partners, and they have a continuous process for evaluating themselves against best practices for regional governments — the peer review.
The southwest region of EDA, through work of the SWREDA board, introduced a new approach to peer reviews in 2014 and have continued to perfect it. In 2015, the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) recognized this work with a NADO Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award (formerly known as the Innovation Awards). NADO’s description of the process for which the award was given follows:
Through the SWREDA’s Southwest Peer Exchange, SWREDA has improved the peer review process and promoted more collaboration throughout the EDA Austin Region. SWREDA surveys economic development districts and matches them based on similarities of staff size, program areas and interests, and a region’s urban or rural focus. Required documents are submitted electronically in advance of the scheduled review. The setting provides for multiple reviews conducted at a central location, timed adjacent to training or other SWREDA or other related events. SWREDA’s Peer Coordinator and Peer Committee coordinate the exchanges, solicit survey responses, facilitate conversations, assess evaluations and share results of the peer exchange. This approach minimized costs and intrusions on time, reduced demands for travel, streamlined EDA coordination and logistics, formed peer learning environments and created capacity building opportunities.”