The Pulaski County Growth Alliance has hired Wayne Morgan of Lake Ozark, Mo., to serve as its first economic development director, President Bill Ransdall announced on Thursday.
The board finalized its decision on Wednesday, after hearing presentations from three candidates brought forward by the PCGA selection committee. Morgan verbally accepted the job offer Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s been a long time in coming,” Ransdall said. “It’s been a project that has been worked on in the county for years and worked on diligently by the PCGA the last two years.”
Morgan has served as a professional economic developer for 12 years. The last 10 years, Morgan served as the economic developer and chamber executive for the City of Eldon and Eldon Chamber of Commerce. He began his professional career with the Barton County Chamber of Commerce after serving six years as mayor of Paris, MO. He holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in business and has attained the professional designation of Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFI). He has also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and the Heartland Economic Development Course (AEDC). He served in the Missouri Army National Guard and completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood.
Morgan will begin his duties on Monday, July 20. He will be co-located with the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce and will report to the PCGA board, which has a 12-member board and 14 ex-officio members.. He will begin his duties by meeting individually with the local governments in the county and begin development of a website.
“Pulaski County will finally have a county website that will be useful to cities, Realtors and businesses,” Ransdall said. “The economic advantages of our county are great right now and we want to make them known to potential employers.”
In November, the group kicked off a fund-raising campaign, and so far over $50,000 has been generated with similar amounts pledged for two additional years. Contributions are still being accepted. Part of Morgan’s job will be securing the financial base of the organization.
The board began its search in April for an economic developer with resumes due in May. Sixteen resumes were received, and seven of the 16 were considered for the position.
The purpose of the Pulaski County Growth Alliance (PCGA) is to create a better place to live for current and future residents of Pulaski County by increasing the social, economic, educational, health-related and recreational opportunities for all by acting collectively to increase local capacity to respond to local needs.
Officially organized on July 31, 2008, the Pulaski County Growth Alliance is the outgrowth of a volunteer economic development committee that was developed by Pulaski County leadership to work with the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) on a Department of Defense (DOD) grant for an economic diversification study. That study pointed out the need for a formal economic development organization and a professional developer in order to move the county forward economically. A labor availability study is being finalized to capture the skills of military retirees and spouses. Both studies have been funded through a grant from the DOD’s Office of Economic Adjustment.
PCGA board members are President Bill Ransdall, Vice President Linda Wilson, Secretary Carol Carson, Treasurer Anita Ivey, Ralph Cook, Luge Hardman, Randy Becht, Glenn Helton, Mike Dunbar, Todd Bailey, Rick Morris and Bob Chapman.
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