History

Protecting Our Heritage

Switzerland County has a history of civic leaders joining together to attract new business to Switzerland County. A small group, including bankers and educators, brought US Shoe to Vevay in 1947. Later, in the mid-1960’s, the Vevay Switzerland County Industrial Corporation raised money and leased property to Randall Textron in order to secure that business for the County. Most recently, the Belterra Casino was opened here, thanks to the efforts of a local group, SCORE, organized for that purpose.

The Switzerland County Economic Development Commission was created by the Switzerland County Council, on August 10, 2002. Shortly after, the three-member commission convened county leaders for a group of meetings to craft a comprehensive economic development strategy for the County.

The first action step of the County’s economic development strategy was to create a not-for-profit corporation to carry out the County’s economic development activities. It was from this action step that the Switzerland County Economic Development Corporation (SCEDC) was formed.

“No one person or organization can accomplish economic development alone; it takes collaboration, cooperation, and partnerships with state, county and town governments, community leaders, and the community at large. By working together as a community, we can determine our own destiny and better position Switzerland County for the future.”
-Switzerland County Economic Development Strategy, 2004