Brad Lofton
As of August 2006, Brad serves as the Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority.
During his brief tenure in Valdosta, The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority has recruited over 1,200 new manufacturing jobs, and over $150 million in new manufacturing capital investment. Recent announcements include Valdosta Optics Lab, Organic Milling, Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe, and Steeda Auto Sports—Ford’s premier high performance parts manufacturer. Due to new jobs and capital investment in 2006, Site Selection Magazine has recently awarded Valdosta the # 3 destination in America in its size for new industry location.
Brad is a native of Moultrie. He has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Mercer University and Master of Business Administration from Georgia Southwestern State University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in International Development through the University of Southern Mississippi.
He has most recently served as the CEO of the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Development Authority. Over the past three years, the Effingham County Industrial Authority created 2,500 new jobs, and $250 million in new industrial investment.
Prior to Effingham, Brad spent four years as Executive Director of the Lee County Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority. During that period, Lee County was honored twice by Georgia Trend Magazine as an emerging leader in economic development in the State.
He began his career directly out of college working with the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Authority. While in Moultrie, he was a part of a team that created over 2,000 additional jobs and $150 million in industrial investment including the recruitment of the Fortune 200 Company Farmland National Beef.
Brad is a board member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, a member of the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, and was named in 2004 by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the Top 40 most influential Georgians under 40. He is married to his wife Tiffany. They have one daughter—a 4-year-old basset hound named Abby.
Contact Info
Phone: 229-259-9972