“The Yellowhead East Community Futures Society” and “The Yellowhead East Business Development Corporation” were formed on October 1, 1989 and opened their doors to small business and the community. These two entities merged into one organization in 1994, The Yellowhead East Business Development Corporation.

The vision of the organization since its inception has been to promote and assist in the economic development, diversification, and stabilization of the Yellowhead East region, with at special emphasis on job creation. Regional needs remain focused onjob creation, economic diversity and economic stabilization. Its primary role is to generate jobs in the region through self-employment counseling, training, financial assistance and development of external partnerships in job strategy, and community and economic development programs.

A Board Of Directors governs the organization, representative of the eleven (11) member municipalities, which make up the Yellowhead East region. Accountability, and ultimately community stake holder accountability, is a fundamental operating principle of the YEBDC. These individuals represent various areas throughout the region and hail from a variety of business and service backgrounds. This expertise has proven to be invaluable.

The Board of Directors is responsible for the development of a Strategic Plan and for ensuring its appropriateness over time. It is also responsible for setting policy on all aspects of community economic development work. The Board of Directors also over sees such things as the management of loan funds, setting policies and procedures, and developing the goals of the organization. In addition, a subcommittee acts as the Investment Committee to assess and administer the investment fund allocations.

The total population of the region is 39,874 people, based on 2001 census data. The following map shows the region in its entire