The big economic announcement that was made by Gov. Ralph Northam last week outside the STEPS Centre was an exciting event. I’ll draw an athletics analogy to describe it.

In sports, I can get used to covering a team during the course of a season but then find both the team and the atmosphere around it suddenly elevated to a new level of energy when playoff time arrives. Last Wednesday, Dec. 19, was playoff time for Prince Edward County and Farmville.

Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors Chair Pattie Cooper-Jones conveyed the excitement of the area in her remarks, and Gov. Northam and YakAttack, LLC, Founder and President Luther Cifers made it clear there was great reason to be hyped.

YakAttack is a leading and growing manufacturer of kayak fishing accessories, and Northam noted the company’s move to Prince Edward’s STEPS Centre will include an investment of $3.4 million.

Cifers said, “YakAttack has as much opportunity in front of it as we can possibly develop in the foreseeable future, and this move to Prince Edward County will enable us to do just that, creating around 50 jobs in the next five years and making significant investments in new design, tooling and manufacturing capabilities in the process.”

Near the end of his speech, Cifers emphasized stewardship and that “people have believed in us to make today possible, and we’re committed to doing something great with this opportunity.”

I was struck by the conviction in the words that Cooper-Jones spoke when she told Cifers at the news conference that “we commit to you our pledge to make this the best business decision you have ever made.”

Prince Edward means business, and that is definitely something to be excited about.

TITUS MOHLER is the sports editor for The Farmville Herald and Farmville Newsmedia, LLC. His email address is Titus.Mohler@FarmvilleHerald.com.