Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation President & CEO Don Cunningham and the Allentown Panel Shop by Marcon Properties were honored by the Lehigh Valley Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Foundation with Individual of the Year and Project of the Year awards. 
The awards were presented Oct. 23 at a sold-out breakfast of more than 400 real estate and allied professionals at ArtsQuest at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.
Cunningham has led Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) since 2012. He was recognized by the foundation during a year in which Lehigh Valley landed two multi-billion-dollar manufacturing investments, including the largest single investment in the region’s history and the largest pharmaceutical investment in Pennsylvania history, a $3.5 billion Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical plant. In September, Chobani announced a $1.2 billion production facility, the largest dairy investment in state history.
During Cunningham's tenure at LVEDC, the Lehigh Valley is a regular in the top ten list of America’s mid-size markets for economic development, ranking first in the nation in both 2023 and 2025 for economic growth among regions with populations under 1 million.
“There are so many leaders in this room who have contributed to this incredible success. But in my mind, there's one person that has really been the driver of economic development in Lehigh Valley for so many years, and that is Don Cunningham,” said Rick Siger, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, who introduced Cunningham at the awards ceremony.
“It's no coincidence that Don's leadership coincides with the Lehigh Valley's economic and cultural renaissance, and the transformation of this economy from heavy industry to a diversified economic base with an annual GDP of more than $57 billion,” Siger said.
Cunningham said he was overwhelmed to be recognized.
“A lot of people ask me, ‘Why is what's happening in the Lehigh Valley happening? What makes it so special?’ he told the audience. “And I think one thing we've done over the last 30, 40 years is, we keep our heads down and we stay focused on improving our own backyard.”
“We've just made the Lehigh Valley a better place because we know how to work together and we care about the community. And I think our whole country could take a lesson in that.”
Prior to joining LVEDC, Cunningham served in a variety of key public and private positions - Mayor and City Council Member of Bethlehem, Lehigh County Executive, Pennsylvania Secretary of General Services - working on most of the region’s major economic and cultural developments since 1995.
He thanked his wife, Lynn, and the teams he has worked with at LVEDC and his previous roles, including private sector positions at PPL Corporation and Moravian University.
The mission of the Lehigh Valley Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Foundation is to support babies and their families impacted by medical challenges. Over 33 years, it has raised more than $2 million, including $150,000 from this year's event.
Cunningham shared how he toured the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Luke’s University Health Network earlier this year to see the impact of the foundation’s fundraising.
“It makes you incredibly grateful that we have those facilities here in the Lehigh Valley,” he said. “That's something we can really, really be proud of. So, thank you to the health networks, to the nurses, the doctors, and all those who provide that care because you make the Lehigh Valley great.”
Allentown Panel Shop
The Allentown Panel Shop by Marcon Properties is home to Eastern Exterior Wall Systems, which manufactures prefabricated building envelope systems for institutional and commercial construction projects.
The project involved the redevelopment of two historic manufacturing buildings once used by Traylor Engineering and the Mack Brothers Machine Shop, a predecessor of Mack Trucks.
Both buildings were stripped down to their original structure and extensively renovated. Improvements included new concrete floors, exterior walls, windows, roofing, overhead cranes, and complete office fit-outs.
Allentown Economic Development Corporation acquired the property in 2014 and demolished four buildings to prepare the land for reuse, while stabilizing the Machine Shop building. Marcon Properties was created to own and develop the 17-acre site.
“This is a very fun project to work on, seeing abandoned buildings come back to life,” said Jody Marcon, President and CEO of Marcon Industries. “We're very proud to have taken a brownfield from a very prominent location in Allentown and turn it into a working manufacturing facility. And we're very proud to have Allentown residents working in the facility.”
The $52 million project is projected to generate more than $13 million in tax revenue and have an economic impact of nearly $91 million, according to Building America Community Development Entity, Inc., which allocated $8 million in new market tax credits for the project.
“It’s an indicator of success and accomplishing our goals of making Allentown safer, cleaner, and healthier for our residents,” Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, a member of LVEDC's Board of Directors, told The Morning Call in 2025. “There’s an incredible local manufacturer who is going to be creating wealth-building opportunities for Allentown residents within walking distance of their homes.”
Marcon thanked Scott Unger, Executive Director of the Allentown Economic Development Corporation, for his leadership in the project. Unger is a member of the Board of Directors of LVEDC.
Eastern Exterior Wall Systems and its sister company, Duggan and Marcon Inc., have been part of the Lehigh Valley construction industry since 1929. Duggan and Marcon began producing prefabricated exterior wall panels in the 1970s. Eastern Exterior Wall Systems was formed in 1986 to specialize in and expand the use of those systems.
The efficiencies gained through the new plant layouts will allow Eastern Exterior Wall Systems to expand its business, which includes modeling, engineering, drafting, and project management in addition to manufacturing.
“It's now our responsibility to keep that building productive in the future,” Marcon said.
LVEDC was among the sponsors of the Lehigh Valley Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Foundation’s awards breakfast.
(Photos by LVEDC and Marcon Enterprises. Screenshot from Lehigh Valley Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Foundation website)