HARRISBURG— Gov.-elect Tom Corbett said today he has tapped a coal company president and prominent GOP campaign donor from central Pennsylvania to head the agency responsible for numerous community and business aid programs.

Alan Walker of Bradford Energy Company will head the state Department of Community and Economic Development, Corbett said in a statement.

Walker, of Clearfield County, is Corbett’s first cabinet appointee.

Corbett, the state’s Republican attorney general, will be sworn in Jan. 18. After that, Walker must pass a Senate confirmation vote to assume the job on a permanent basis.

Walker, 66, is a member and past chairman of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the Pennsylvania Coal Association and has an outstanding record of civic and community work, Corbett said.