During the 69th Annual Meeting of the Southern Economic Development Council, Patrick Topping, Senior Vice President with the Macon Economic Development Commission, was named to its prestigious group of Honorary Board Members.  Honorary Life Membership is the highest award SEDC bestows and is awarded yearly by the SEDC Board of Directors.

Topping has more than thirty years’ experience in economic development and is known for being a well-respected and highly skilled practitioner who exemplifies complete professionalism and maintains high business ethics and standards. Topping has served as president of chambers of commerce in Milledgeville/Baldwin County, Georgia and Cumming/Forsyth County, Georgia.  Currently he serves as the Senior Vice President for the Macon Economic Development Commission in Macon, Georgia.

The mission of the Macon Economic Development Commission is to attract, sustain and grow primary jobs and investment in Macon-Bibb County.  The MEDC is a private/public agency funded by the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, Macon-Bibb County and the Macon Water Authority to develop and implement the Marketing Strategy and to act as the single point of contact for economic development activity in Macon-Bibb County.  In 1991, Topping was named Macon-Bibb County’s ombudsman, entrusted to negotiate with companies and consultants on behalf of the community. In 2015, MEDC was named one of the top four economic development agencies in Georgia by Southern Business & Development magazine, a leading trade publication.

A Certified Economic Developer since 2003, Topping has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, as Georgia’s State Director to the Southern Economic Development Council, the oldest and largest regional economic development association in North America and served on the Public Policy Advisory Committee for the International Economic Development Council. Topping has published economic development articles in trade publications including ED Review and has taught a section of the Development Authority Board Member Training course offered by UGA.  He received his Certified Economic Development certificate in 2003.  He attended the University of Georgia and received his BBA from Georgia State University, Atlanta, and MBA from Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Georgia. He is a graduate of Mount de Sales Academy in Macon.   

Topping has also taught part time for over 20 years at Georgia College & State University and Macon State College (now Middle Georgia State University) in the Business and Marketing Department and serves on the National Engineering Advisory Board of Mercer University and the governance board for the William S. Hutchings College & Career Academy in Macon, Georgia.