Matt Gedney of the Lancaster & Chester Railroad (L&C) and parent company Gulf & Ohio Railways, has been presented the annual Ally Award by the South Carolina Economic Developers’ Association (SCEDA) for his role in securing E. & J. Gallo Winery’s selection of Chester County for the California company’s first East Coast facility.
The $423 million project is expected to create 496 new jobs and was one of the largest economic development announcements in the state last year. The production and distribution center is expected to help stimulate economic growth in the S.C. 9 corridor for years to come.
Gedney, the short-line railroad’s Chief Business Development Officer, has been with the company since he graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2004. His late father, Steve Gedney, is a former president of the L&C, which has 62 miles of rail serving industries and transloading facilities in Chester and Lancaster counties.
“The Ally Award was created to recognize an individual’s outstanding efforts to advance economic development in their area. Matt exemplified that in the many ways he used his deep knowledge of our area to help connect Gallo to not only the rail service it would need, but to the land and other vital infrastructure such as sewer and water,” said Robert Long, Director of Chester County Economic Development, who nominated Gedney for this year’s award.
“The L&C has been in continuous operation for 125 years and we’ve always been a critical piece of the economic life of Chester and Lancaster counties. It was a pleasure and a privilege to work with so many stakeholders and decision-makers to attract such a prominent global company here to help our community and the company grow together,” Gedney said.
The Ally Award was presented at SCEDA’s annual conference May 4-6 at Hilton Head Island.