The year 2013 was a great one for Steve Halter, president of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce. First, he received his professional economic development certification, and then he won the Glenn Shepard Excellence in Leadership Award, chosen from a small pool of nominees nationwide.

"I love to help businesses succeed and to promote the community that I grew up in," says Halter, whose childhood home is less than a mile from his office. "I am most passionate about seeing our community prosper. Many people want to focus on growth, but I believe that growth is always a result of business prosperity."

Halter worked in Walmart management for 22 years, moving all over the country before coming home to Poplar Bluff, Mo., and accepting a job with the chamber of commerce. A graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, Halter has undergraduate and graduate degrees in business and is a certified Kauffman Entrepreneurial trainer in Operation Jump Start and FastTrac Growth Venture. He also owns a business with his wife and teaches graduate-level business classes for William Woods University.

Halter is a member of the Missouri Economic Development Council, Missouri Workforce Investment Board, Poplar Bluff Industries, Poplar Bluff Kiwanis Club, Downtown Poplar Bluff, University of Missouri Extension-Business Development Program, Living Word Baptist Church and the Community Cares Corporation.

To those starting out in business, he says, "Build relationships, take care of your current businesses first and foremost and attend professional development. Also, take every advantage you can to network with other chamber executives and economic developers to learn from their successes and failures."

--Robyn Gautschy