Retired The Bank of Missouri president John M. Thompson says he's been asked to pinch-hit on behalf of Cape Girardeau Area Magnet, but he downplays his chances of driving in many runs.

Thompson was unanimously chosen earlier this month to serve as Magnet's interim director in anticipation of John Mehner's upcoming departure from the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. Thompson's appointment as interim director became effective Sept. 3.

Mehner, who will mark his 28th anniversary as president of the Cape Chamber next month, plans to step down by the end of the year. When he leaves the chamber, he will also be leaving Magnet, which he has led under a contractual agreement with the Magnet board since Mitch Robinson left the organization nearly a decade ago.

Magnet is planning a national search for new leadership, but it won't begin until after it completes a strategic planning process that won't end for several more months. As a result, the search might not start until December at the earliest and it could be February or March before new leadership is in place for the business recruitment and retention organization.

And that's why the Magnet board sent Thompson to the plate.

"I was both scared and excited when asked by the board if I would pinch-hit for John during his transition to retirement," he told me last week, adding, "I'm only pinch-hitting for a short while for a first-ballot hall of fame chamber and economic development professional, so don't expect many RBIs."

Thompson, a resident of Jackson, was named to the Magnet board last year following the death of his friend and board member Dennis Vinson in late 2019.

Magnet board chairman and Cape Girardeau Mayor Pro Tem Robbie Guard said Thompson's selection to temporarily head Magnet was an easy decision.

"We (the board) felt that it would be good to have someone that could be in that position for an interim basis and learn everything he needed to know from John (Mehner) and work with him for however long it would be to get us through to when we have a full-time director," Robbie said, and said Thompson is receiving no compensation for serving as interim director.

"He's someone who has been involved in so many different things from a leadership standpoint and has had a storied banking career with The Bank of Missouri," Robbie continued. "And with him being retired, he had some time for this."

Thompson has had several meetings with Mehner to get himself up to speed on Magnet's current recruitment and retention projects, which he describes as "drinking from a fire hose" and admits, "I'm wondering what I've gotten myself into."

Nonetheless, he says he's "looking forward to nudging forward the Magnet mission as best I can for the short time I've been asked to serve."

Personally, I think he'll be a pretty good pinch-hitter.

Bankers oppose administration plan

I've heard from several people in the banking and financial services industry about what they're describing as a potentially burdensome policy being proposed by the Biden administration.

The proposal, which they say would also be an invasion of privacy, would require financial institutions to report business and personal financial transactions to the IRS regardless of customer consent.

"Bankers and even more business owners are way opposed," the president of one local bank told me.

ICBA (Independent Community Bankers of America) has kicked off an online protest and hopes to send more than 50,000 letters opposing the proposal to members of Congress in the next couple of weeks.

We will likely hear more about this proposal in the coming weeks.

Fair focuses on agribusiness

With last week's 166th SEMO District Fair in the books, attention is now focused on next weekend's East Perry Community Fair in Altenburg.

Billed as a "traditional agricultural fair," it will kick off Friday afternoon with a parade featuring grand marshals Marvin and Stan Petzoldt, who have been involved with East Perry Lumber Co.'s management for more than 50 years. The company itself was founded in 1945 and recently marked its 75th anniversary.

But it hasn't been around as long as the fair, which began in 1937 and has taken place at the same location every year since with the exception of 1942 to 1945 during World War II (when the government asked people to conserve resources) and last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There'll be plenty of agriculture-related activities and exhibits, along with fair food, entertainment, children's rides, games and, of course, the ever-popular "world championship" jumping mule competition Saturday afternoon. Although I've lived here most of my life, I've never witnessed this spectacle. That might change this year.

More details and a schedule of events can be found on the fair's Facebook page.

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