The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal-state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. The Commission is a partnership of 420 counties or county-equivalents (including eight independent cities in Virginia, where state law makes cities administratively separate from counties), and the governors of West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, and a presidential appointee representing the federal government. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The current Federal Co-Chair is Earl F. Gohl, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010. The current States' Co-Chair is Alabama Governor Robert Bentley. Grassroots participation is provided through 73 local development districts, which are multi-county organizations with boards made up of elected officials, businesspeople, and other local leaders. The mission of ARC is to be a strategic partner and advocate for sustainable community and economic development in Appalachia. The ARC is a planning, research, advocacy and funding organization; it does not have any governing powers within the region.
Read more about Appalachian Regional Commission: Origins, ARC Projects, How ARC Works
Famous quotes containing the word commission:
“Children cannot eat rhetoric and they cannot be sheltered by commissions. I don’t want to see another commission that studies the needs of kids. We need to help them.”
—Marian Wright Edelman (b. 1939)