DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — Creating unified marketing and branding strategies for the Dayton region, as well as ensuring anticipated gains from the Base Realignment and Closure Act, are among the Dayton Development Coalition's top priorities for the coming year.

Those were among the messages delivered to a crowd of more than 450 during the coalitions' annual meeting held at the Dayton Art Institute on Thursday.

According to coalition officials, more than $200 million in business investment was made in the region on their watch in 2006.

Likewise, 1,160 jobs were either created or retained through economic development strategies that target Aerospace research and development, information technology and manufacturing and health care.

"It's very important that we focus on area's that we can win," said Bev Shillito, coalition trustee. "We look for companies that can benefit from and provide opportunities for companies that are already here."

In the coming year, the coalition has outlined several key initiatives, including:

• Leveraging Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's anticipated growth. More than 1,200 are expected to arrive in the region between 2008 and 2011 through the Air Force's base closing and realignment process.

• Implementing the Entrepreneurial Signature Program, which is funded through an $11.3 million Ohio Department of Development grant and a $7.5 million local match.

• Building a unified marketing and branding identity for the region.

"The coalition's goal really is to try to find common ground and a common voice to enhance our strategy to get some things done," said JP Nauseef, president and CEO of the coalition. "It doesn't happen by accident."