The role of citizens in the economic development process will be the focus of a communitywide forum planned for the downtown Governmnet Center Thursday afternoon.

Hosted by Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard and sponsored by the Mayor's Coalition for Economic Development, the two-hour forum will feature guest speaker Raymond Gilley, who served for a decade as president of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission. Gilley was also appointed by then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to chair Work Force Florida, where he led development of the state's work force policy, programs and services.

Since March of this year, Gilley has been CEO of Solodev, a content management software company.

"I was just on the phone with Ray, and his purpose for coming here is not to tell us what we're doing wrong," Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission President Ted Clem said Monday afternoon. "He wants to help us start conversations about ways we can make the community better, whether through our school system, our colleges or through the Economic Development Commission.

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