The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA), an economic development organization encompassing South Carolina’s northeast region, announced that in 2011 the region secured 13 new development announcements which brought in nearly $250,000,000, creating 2,000 jobs.

The organization’s annual report (PDF), released during Friday’s executive committee meeting, also detailed NESA’s 2011 efforts, including 2,737 distinct contacts with companies and consultants, pursuit of 85 active leads, visits with more than two dozen existing industry executives, hosting three educational consultant events, and more than 30 media placements in local and national publications.

NESA executive director Jeff McKay expressed confidence the report would be welcomed by the region, “Quite simply our annual report indicates that we met or exceeded each of our 2011 goals.”

Looking ahead, McKay went on to note “Our work is never truly done. We wake up every morning thinking about how we can bring jobs to the region. Whether its meeting with consultants and executives outside the region – as we did more than 300 times this year – or hosting events that help our local economic development partners stay on top of the latest trends and best practices, we will continue to employ a proactive twenty-first century economic development strategy.”

“Our region boasts a ready, willing, and able workforce, unbeatable quality of life, and a community one-hundred percent committed to helping companies succeed. The NESA report clearly shows that we are bringing these messages to potential employers and they are taking notice,” added Sen. J. Yancey McGill, Chairman of the NESA Executive Committee.

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) is a regional economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in the northeast corner of South Carolina. NESA’s primary objective is to enhance significantly the quality of life for residents of the region by creating additional jobs and capital investment within the existing industry base as well as through recruitment of new companies and expansion of tourism related development. NESA’s nine member counties are Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro, and Williamsburg.