The Selma and Dallas County Centre for Commerce will host Ed Castile at its annual meeting Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

Castile is the deputy secretary of commerce, workforce development division and director of AIDT.

“I’m very excited, I feel like it’s an honor for us to have him,” said Wayne Vardaman, president of the Centre of Commerce. “Ed’s role at AIDT is critical to developing the workforce that keeps our region and this state moving forward.”

Ed Castile was appointed director of Alabama Industrial Development Training in 1993.

He is a former director of the State of Tennessee Industrial Training Service. He currently serves on the Governor’s College and Career Ready Task Force, the State Workforce Investment Act Board, the Board of Directors for the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama Foundation, the Economic Development Association of Alabama Board of Directors, the Alabama Career/Technical Education Advisory Council, the Commission on Manufacturing, the UAB Biotechnology Advisory Board and the Governor’s Economic Alliance.

He is the in-coming president of the National Association of Industry Specific Training Directors.  Castile earned a masters of vocational technical education degree and a bachelor of science in industrial studies education degree from the Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The annual meeting will be an opportunity for members and the community to come together and share ideas as well as catch up on the previous year.

“We look forward to the meeting because it’s a networking opportunity. It’s just a night that everybody can socialize and talk to each other and share ideas,” Vardaman said.

“I’m real excited about it.”

The Selma and Dallas County Centre for Commerce is an organization that includes the Economic Development Authority as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information.

Tickets to the event are $40 and can be purchased at the Centre for Commerce.