Congratulations, CGI Inc. Troy’s newest corporate citizen recently received a 2010 CiCi Award, which recognized the opening of CGI’s Troy facility as one of the top 15 economic development projects of 2009 in terms of having a profound positive affect on the quality of life of the citizens who live in the area.

The Corporate Investment and Community Impact Awards (CiCi) are presented annually by Trade Industry & Development magazine and this year’s honorees include projects as sweeping as a $500 million wind farm created in Montana to a 600-job expansion of the Alliant Technologies plant in Iuka, Miss., to a $100 million General Electric research center being created in Van Buren Township, Mich., which has the promise of creating up to 1,200 direct jobs and 1,600 indirect jobs.

And among these is the Troy project, CGI’s 14th Center of Excellence which, as folks on all sides of the table are quick to point out, wasn’t supposed to happen.

Relentless efforts, an unscheduled trip to Troy, and the convincing work of a local team of volunteers and leaders helped bring this 300-job facility to Troy and Pike County.

As Donna Morea, president of CGI, US, said, this center allows CGI “to continue to create highly skilled, quality jobs in rural America.”

Now, we have the promise of high-paying, high-tech jobs that not only diversify our economic base but also allow us to keep some of our brightest talent here at home … And perhaps bring some who have strayed back to Troy.

This partnership brings not only the jobs and the promise of an active and involved corporate citizen in CGI, it brings an open door of opportunities for our community – one in which we now can show that we are the right choice for highly skilled companies seeking to find a home.

Moreover, CGI’s choice to locate in Troy was a vote of confidence in our community; our economic development efforts; our workforce; our quality of life; and our future.

And in terms of positive community impact, that is certainly award-worthy.

Congratulations, CGI, on a well-deserved honor.