Front Royal Economic Development Authority directors appointed

The Front Royal Economic Development Authority (FREDA) was established this year by the Front Royal Town Council. The mission of FREDA is to grow business capital investment increasing the tax base, create jobs, develop best use practices for Front Royal’s real estate, build on the strengths and the needs of neighborhoods, and support existing businesses. The following are the first directors appointed to FREDA by the Town Council:

• Nick Bass (4-year term) Mr. Bass is a geotechnical and construction consultant specializing in the review of construction contracts and subcontractor agreements to identify risky language.
• Frank Stankiewicz (3-year term) Mr. Stankiewicz is the owner/manager of Green to Ground Electrical LLC, and the president of a local networking organization.
• James Crowell (3-year term) Mr. Crowell is the owner of Quecon, Inc. which is part of the Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services Industry. The company specializes in cybersecurity, software engineering and telecommunications. Crowell graduated from Goldman Sachs 10,000 small business program (10KSB), the Veteran’s Institute of Procurement (VIP), the VA Scaling for Growth (S4G), and the Small Business Administration (SBA) business development program.
• Rick Novak (2-year term) Mr. Novak is the owner of Royal Cinemas and Royal Family Bowling Center. He is the former owner of the Blue Ridge Motel and Royal Family Amusement Arcade.
• Mark Tapsak (2-year term) Mr. Tapsak is the owner of Mountain Music. He is a medical device research scientist and consultant with Diabetic Health Inc., and a university professor teaching biochemistry and chemistry.
• Isaac Rushing (1-year term) Mr. Rushing is the owner of Honey and Hops Brew Works. He previously worked as a supervisor for the Town of Front Royal.
• David Gedney (1-year term) Mr. Gedney is the owner of Element Restaurant. He is a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals and is participating in planning and expanding a recycling effort for VCU.

Steven Hicks, Front Royal’s Town Manager will serve as FREDA’s executive director.

(from Town Press Release)