VP for Economic Development Presents at Annual GMA Convention

KENNESAW, Ga. (Aug 11, 2021) — As KSU's new vice president for economic development, Tyler Reinagel attended the 2021 Georgia Municipal Association Annual Convention in Savannah. The event, attended by city officials and local leaders from across the state, features numerous, topical sessions on pressing issues cities face.    

GMA participants from l to r: Scott Haggard, director of government and external affairs, Atlanta Transit Authority and State Road and Tollway Authority; Rochelle Robinson, mayor of Douglasville; Tyler Reinagel, associate vice president for economic development, KSU;  Vince Williams, mayor of Union City, GMA President, and 1st vice president, National League of Cities; Jim Jaquish, local government affairs director, Atlanta Regional Commission Center for Strategic Relations; and Lynn Deutsch, mayor of Dunwoody.

Reinagel participated as a presenter in a number of panels during the convention. In one panel with the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association (MAMA), he and Daryl Ingram, senior vice president and chief external officer for Electric Cities of Georgia, discussed strategies that metro Atlanta cities can take to build stronger and more sustainable economic development. Reinagel discussed an evolving need to focus on diversifying local economies to reduce over-reliance on single industries and increase long-term stability, and leveraging partnerships with colleges and universities, non-profit organizations, and business leagues.

Reinagel also served as a panelist in the Municipal Training Institute's "Building Community Capacity Through Tourism," in which he discussed current issues facing local leaders in short-term vacation rentals and tourism economics.

As a trainer in the "Municipal Taxation 102" session, he taught local officials the mechanics of local governments' hotel-motel excise tax and how to most effectively work with local chambers of commerce and convention and visitors bureaus.

Created in 1933, the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) is the only state organization that represents municipal governments in Georgia. Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its members. GMA currently represents 537 cities in Georgia.