On March 9, 2017, the Allegany County Commissioners formally appointed Jeffrey S. Barclay to serve as the next Director of the county’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).

According to the press release,

Barclay has been serving as the Acting Director of the department since November of 2016 following a re-organization of the department. “We are very excited for our county and Jeff,” commented Jake Shade, County Commission President. “He is a talented individual who has a proven track record of achieving results. This attribute is critically important for our community going forward,” continued Shade.

“Jeff not only has proven himself in the area of project development, but also has honed his problem-solving skills which is essential for a small department such as ours,” commented County Administrator David A. Eberly.

Barclay has been employed by Allegany County since May of 2001 and has been part of the DECD since 2007. In 2014, Barclay was promoted to the position of Economic Development Specialist, where he has served as a project ombudsman and facilitator for various private development projects. During the last two years, Barclay has been responsible for supporting the investment of 20 million dollars in economic development activity ranging from hotel to commercial retail redevelopment, to large scale product distribution. Barclay was named WCBC Person of the Year 2015 for his leadership role in overseeing the recent boom in economic development activities.