LBW Community College’s Wendell Mitchell Conference Center became a place to connect Wednesday as business leaders from around the county gathered at the Butler County Commission for Economic Development’s Industry Appreciation breakfast.

The event took the place of a luncheon that had been held in previous years. There was no keynote speaker and the environment was more relaxed. Attendees were able to come and go according to their schedules.

“This was a networking tool for industries in our community,” BCCED Executive Director David Hutchison said. “People who needed to talk business, but hadn’t had the chance to speak were able to connect.”

Hutchison estimates that around 40 people from industries around the county and organizations such as PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, Alabama Power Company, Pioneer Electric Cooperative and the Alabama Department of Commerce attended the event.

“For a first time event, I felt like we had a good turnout,” he said.

Hutchison said a similar event may be held later this year.

“It’s a good chance for us to say thank you,” he said. “In the last year, the majority of our time has been spent assisting our existing industries. … We’re continuing to work on attracting new industries to our area, but at the same time our existing industries remain a focus. You’ve got to have good, healthy existing industries in order to get other company’s excited about locating in your community. We want to do everything we can to help the industries in our community be successful and we think an event like this is just one more tool we can give them.”