Blodgett Elected ACCRA 2005-06 President
06/27/2005
Ken Poole, ACCRA - 703-522-4980
Jeff Blodgett, CERC - 860-571-6208
ACCRA - the Council for Community and Economic Research has named Jeffrey Blodgett of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) as president of its national board for the 2005-06 year beginning July 1. ACCRA, a national, non-profit research organization, promotes excellence in research for economic and community development.
Mr. Blodgett serves as vice president of research at CERC where he is responsible for the company's business and economic research services. He holds a master's degree in research design and statistical methods. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Economic Development Research.
Mr. Blodgett has held a variety of research positions in both academia and government over the past 25 years, including affiliations with Yale University and the Connecticut Department of Education. Prior to joining CERC, he was the research director at the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
ACCRA was created in 1961 by several chamber of commerce researchers who felt that there was a need for applied community researchers to meet, share ideas, and transfer knowledge. Today, ACCRA is the single largest national organization dedicated to economic development and policy research. ACCRA, best known for the Cost of Living Index, accomplishes its mission through professional development and training, advocacy and the development and delivery of products and services. With nearly 500 members nationally, ACCRA works to improve data quality and availability. Members of ACCRA are professionals in the U.S. and Canada serving a variety of organizations, including chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and colleges and universities. More information about ACCRA can be found at www.accra.org.
CERC is a nonprofit company funded by 10 of the state's utility and telecommunications companies in partnership with state government. With a mission of promoting Connecticut as a competitive business location, CERC specializes in economic development, research and marketing for local, regional, state and utility economic development entities. Visit www.cerc.com for more info.