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Jack Riddle
                                                                                      President, Director and
            To meet the needs of ALOFT management, Sussex County                      Chief Lending Officer
            officials and DTCC invested in the Aviation Maintenance                   Community Bank Delaware
            Technology program, where students learn to maintain the
            airframe and powerplant of an airplane. Graduates then
            become licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration
            (FAA).                                                                    Q:       As both a bank
            This has reduced the need for contracted labor by                                  director and a
            companies such as ALOFT. In addition to becoming                          member of Delaware’s
            FAA-certified airframe and powerplant maintenance                         Council on Development
            technicians, graduates can also become lead technicians,   Finance, what opportunities do you see for Sussex
            aircraft inspectors and maintenance controllers     County business development growth?
            “This is just one example of our local institutes of higher
            learning ensuring that they are graduating a quality   A:    With the Council on Development
            workforce to meet the needs of our local employers,” said    Finance, we’re an advisory committee to
            Bill Pfaff, Director of Economic Development for Sussex   the Division of Small Business. We review projects,
            County.
                                                                grant and loan applications for folks. We want to
            The County donated the land near where ALOFT        support everybody in the state, but my goal is to
            AeroArchitect operates its business at the airport to help   bring some of that state money to Sussex County.
            get the project off the ground. A $1.5 million building   The legislature gives us money each year, and we
            was constructed with private and state funding, and   try to deploy it in ways to create jobs. Show us
            an additional $1.1 million in equipment was provided   more projects in Sussex! That’s my message.
            through federal and state resources.
                                                                Between what the local banks, County and State
                                                                provide, there’s a lot of resources out there to help
                                                                businesses grow. I see our county continuing to
                                                                grow.
                                                                Community Bank Delaware is what I call a 50/50
                                                                bank: we do consumer products, construction
                                                                loans and all types of business loans—equipment,
                                                                real estate, SBA loans, USDA financing. All our
                                                                lenders and decision makers are here. So, I know
                                                                things about Seaford and Milton and Millsboro.
                                                                We’re just focused on the needs and operations in
                                                                Sussex County.
                                                                We recently celebrated a project in Dewey Beach,
                                                                where we helped a 10-year employee buy a
                                                                business, and the Small Business Administration
                                                                helped him do it.
                                                                As for Sussex, who wouldn’t want to live here? It’s
                                                                a safe place to be. We’ve got beautiful recreational
                                                                opportunities. The economy is still good. We have
                                                                a lot of folks who like to come down here and
                                                                recreate—and move, and I don’t see it slowing
                                                                down.












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