Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday lauded the service of Victor Hoskins, who spent more than seven years as president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority before departing over the summer.
Hoskins was honored at the same meeting supervisors expressed appreciation for the work of Christopher Leonard, who recently retired as deputy county executive for health and human services.
Hoskins presided over the economic development efforts “during some of the most difficult, challenging times our region has ever faced,” Board Chair Jeff McKay said during a presentation during the Sept. 29 Board meeting.
McKay said one of Hoskins’ lasting legacies will be having focused on collaboration with other D.C. area jurisdictions, rather than competing with them.
It was “a breath of fresh air” that “has solidified Northern Virginia and the DMV as an economic force,” McKay said.
Hoskins in 2019 succeeded Gerald Gordon as head of the authority, one of the largest local-government agencies focused on economic development in the nation.
“One of your biggest strengths is your sense of vision and how you connect with others,” Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said. “I’m inspired by it.”
Hoskins said he had admired Fairfax County’s efforts long before he was employed there.
“I consider it a mighty blessing to have come to work for Fairfax,” he told supervisors.
He gave special thanks to members of the economic development authority, school system leadership and County Executive Bryan Hill.
He said Fairfax residents benefit from tenacious and creative efforts of the authority’s staff.
“This work that you see is not my work,” he said. “They are the ones who go out there. That has manifested in all the growth and opportunity that you’ve seen.”
Hoskins served as Arlington’s director of economic development before moving over to Fairfax, and while in Arlington helped craft the proposal that lured Amazon’s HQ2 to that community.
Earlier in his career, Hoskins served as deputy mayor of planning and economic development in the District of Columbia government and had worked on Wall Street.
“This is the longest tenure I’ve spent anywhere,” he said of the Fairfax years.
Hoskins is not retiring fully, having returned to the private sector.
George Thomas, cofounder of Connected DMV, was tapped in August as the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority’s new CEO.
Also on Sept. 29, supervisors honored Leonard, who spent two decades in social safety net leadership positions for the county government.
“You were not a small part, you were a big part, of Fairfax County, and we are grateful,” McKay said.
In remarks, Leonard praised a team-based approach county leaders take on human service issues.
He said he accepted the accolades “on behalf of a team of people, both past and present — an extraordinary group of people.”
“It has certainly been an honor,” Leonard said of his tenure.
