FORNEY, Texas — The City of Forney, alongside the Forney Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the community, are bidding farewell to EDC Director Lynn Spencer.
Spencer joined the EDC in June 2021, after leaving her position as the economic development project and program manager for the Falcons Field Airport in Mesa, Arizona.
During her tenure, she oversaw numerous industrial and retail projects, including Exeter, Holt Lundsford, Lovett Industrial, Gateway East, and Forney Logistics Crossing.
She also played a pivotal role in the development of Victory Shops, the opening of Kohl's, Tom Thumb retail going vertical, projects all along FM 548 including Crumbl Cookies and What’s Poppin, numerous restaurants and shops, the growth along U.S. Highway 80 including the Townplace by Marriott and the up and coming entertainment Slicks in the Trailhouse development.
Projects still underway include an "exciting" development on FM 460 and additional propects at the Villages at Gateway.
Leveraging Partnerships with the Forney Art Council and the downtown market bringing new energy to those events.
"There’s a long list of thank you’s to all the brokers, developers, business owners, business partners, stakeholders and investors that took the risk on Forney and helped us all leave it a little better than we found it," Spencer tells inForney.com.
She also expressed her gratitude to the EDC board of directors and her staff, Mary Wilson, Christy Stewart, and Channing Montgomery, for their teamwork and support.
"They were great at turning our plans and ideas into reality," she added.
Spencer's tenure also saw the launch of several activities in partnership with the Forney Chamber of Commerce, aimed at building partnerships and strengthening the business community. These included Coffee and Economy, Forney Job Fair, and industry-specific roundtables. She also explored new ways to improve community engagement and transparency through events and programs like Ask the EDC and enhanced social media presence.
Spencer is now looking forward to helping businesses and economic development on the workforce side with SERCO of Texas, where she will lead the business services program for the Houston - Galveston area.
"Economic development is a marathon, you take the baton and make progress on what those started before you," said Spencer. "I appreciated coming in behind two legends in the field, Warren Ketterman and Kim Buttram, can't wait to see who takes it from here!"
“Always leave a place better than you found it, I can say with confidence I did just that” she said.