Fort Bend County welcomed recently appointed Secretary of State Nandita Berry during her second week of a planned "aerial tour of Texas."

"This is a distinct honor for us," said Jeff Wiley, president and CEO of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council. "We started as a community that was built on good education, good housing and mostly a commuter [population] and built that into a powerhouse economic situation."

Berry joined Wiley along with Sugar Land Mayor James Thompson and Sugar Land's Director of Economic Development Regina Morales on a helicopter tour of Fort Bend County, visiting areas of Sugar Land, Missouri City, Stafford, Richmond and Rosenberg.

Berry said she was impressed with not only the economic development she saw, but the amount of residential development around the county.

"The presence and recognition of Fort Bend County is undeniable," she said. "For more than 20 years, [the county] has been in the top 20 counties in terms of population growth. People are moving here [to work] and we saw that on our tour. I knew Fort Bend was an economic miracle, and their story really epitomizes the story of Texas as far as economics go."

Berry and her team are expected to visit several other Texas cities in the next two weeks, including Houston, El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed Berry as Secretary of State in late 2013 and she took office Jan. 7. Berry is the 109th secretary of state and the first Indian-American to hold the position.