WHITMAN COUNTY – The Port of Whitman County will serve as the Associate Development Organization (ADO) for Whitman County for the next two years, the Whitman County Commissioners decided today.

The Board of Commissioners designated the Port of Whitman County as Whitman County’s ADO for the period of July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025.

Each of the 39 counties in Washington State designates an organization as its ADO to serve as the lead agency on local economic development activities. ADOs partner with the Washington State Department of Commerce, gathering data and reporting on economic activity within their county.

“It will be exciting to work with the Port in this new capacity,” said Whitman County Commissioner Tom Handy. “We hope to accomplish a lot for the citizens of Whitman County.”

The Port listed several goals in its ADO application, including:

• Collaborate and communicate with a wide range of stakeholders, funding agencies, and peer organizations to further economic and community development efforts in Whitman County
• Enable existing businesses to grow and thrive
• Actively work to bring new businesses (industrial, manufacturing, small, and microenterprise) to Whitman County
• Develop a formalized and prioritized community development program for rural communities throughout the county that do not have a dedicated economic development professional on staff
• Promote and expand tourism throughout the county

“We look forward to working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the county to grow our economy and promote Whitman County as the preferred place to live and do business over the next two years,” said Kara Riebold, Port Executive Director. “Our approach will be to listen, inform, collaborate and act.”

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About the Port of Whitman County

The Port of Whitman County is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Whitman County through industrial real estate development, preservation of multi-modal transportation, facilitation of economic development and provision of on-water recreational opportunities.