Joe Edwards: the BWI Development Council's chairman tells how the business community helps the airport grow. (Baltimore-Washington International Airport) (Regional Report: Baltimore-Washington International Airport) (interview)

The bwi Development Council's Chairman Tells How the Business Community Helps the Airport Grow

Joe Edwards

JOE EDWARDS, THE PRINCIPAL OF HJE Associates, Incorporated, a real estate consulting firm, is the new chairman of the BWI Development Council. But Edwards isn't new to economic development. He helped to found Prince George's County's Economic Development Corporation and served as its president. He created Maryland's first private industry council, and he began the travel promotion council in Prince George's County. During the time that Edwards presided over the Economic Development Corporation, it received national recognition as an All-America City.

Edwards recently spoke with Regardie's about economic development around Baltimore/Washington International Airport. The following excerpts are from that conversation.

What is the goal of the BWI Development Council? The BWI Development Council is a group of businesspeople interested in the overall development of the airport as it relates to the economic welfare of the Baltimore-Washington corridor and the region. We have members from as far away as Salisbury, Hagerstown, Harford County, and southern Maryland. The council was formed in 1978 to advise BWI.

The concept is to be credited to Frank Francois, who was active in county government. He recognized the importance of transportation to the entire region, and he saw the benefit of having BWI in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. He thought each one of the airports - BWI, Washington National, Washington Dulles International - had an important niche. I believe, as Frank did at the time, that BWI carries a more important role, however. Dulles serves Northern Virginia, but BWI serves the entire …