SILVERDALE — The Kitsap Economic Development Alliance has announced that Executive Director John Powers will retire this year.

Powers, who had held the post for the past nine years, put his effort toward reinvigorating the private-public economic development partnership at a time when major regional growth is helping new folks find their way to Kitsap.

Powers thanked the leadership of the board of directors in a Thursday press release announcing his retirement.

“Our board of directors comprise the most valuable asset on our balance sheet,” Powers said. “They are the reason we have succeeded in making a difference in advancing economic opportunities across Kitsap. Led by our dynamic board, I am confident that KEDA will continue to strengthen our economy and community for generations to come — even, and particularly, in the face of the unprecedented economic disruption spawned by the COVID-19 Crisis. We are all in it together — and together we will prevail.”

During the past nine years, KEDA clients have invested hundreds of million of dollars to support jobs throughout Kitsap County, which left a favorable impression with current and past board members.

“John led our Alliance to a new level of awareness and performance; and built a solid foundation upon which to take our Alliance to the next level,” said board member and immediate past chair Monica Blackwood, CEO of West Sound Workforce.

The Alliance’s Executive Committee will resume the search for a new executive director this month. It was interrupted by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but will begin again under the leadership of board chair Nathan Evans, principal software architect at Microsoft.

— Editor’s Note: Terry Ward, vice president of Sound Publishing, is a member of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance’s board of directors.