Hahs: SEMORedi pursuing a strategy for economic growth, job creation in Southeast Missouri

The Cape Area MAGNET organization was established in 1992 as a 501(c)3 not for profit organization. Its mission is to foster a strong economic environment resulting in the retention, expansion, creation and attraction of jobs and new investment in the area.

SEMORedi — Southeast Missouri Regional Economic Development — organization is the new name for MAGNET to better communicate the purpose and direction of the organization. This was announced last year along with several other important changes.

Two years ago, the organization initiated a strategic review of the economic development in the area and a comparison to similar regional areas in Missouri and surrounding states by Ernst & Young, a national consulting company. The results provided the catalyst for changes in the economic development approach in our area.

Some of the findings showed the region had sluggish employment gains in the last 20 years and widespread population declines. Average wages have lagged in our area, somewhat driven by the fact that the majority of new jobs are from regional service industries. Finally, the region has a major issue of attracting/retaining young professionals. All of these were in comparison to our peer regions in Missouri and surrounding states.

This led to the initial change of separating the organization to a standalone organization instead of a part of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. Historically, the organization has been funded by the regional government entities and the Cape Chamber of Commerce. The next change was to expand the funding and board representation to private companies in the region.

This year the board has developed a new strategic plan and expanded the membership from the government and Chamber organizations to now include 20 private companies who contribute to the organization.

The four strategic imperatives for the organization are:

* Business growth and innovation to strengthen existing businesses; accelerate diversification of the economy, especially in tech, agriculture, and growth-oriented professional services.

* Talent and workforce development, including creating career pathways for trades, digital and professional technical training among present workers, future employees, and talent from other regions.

* Branding and marketing, including expanding talent recruiting and attracting efforts of new businesses by communicating the new direction.

* Regional resilience, including building area-wide initiatives to expand the influence of the region.

Working committees led by board members have been set up to develop the initiatives and put in place action plans to deliver measurable results.

There are two major initiatives for 2024.

* First is the conducting of a regional industrial feasibility study. The study focus will be to identify target industry clusters for each community in the region, potential industrial land to be developed, and the corresponding infrastructure needs. SEMORedi received $120,000 in grants for the study, which is under development.

* The second major initiative is the hiring of a chief executive officer for SEMO Redi.

A nine member search committee was formed and an outside consultant hired to assist in this important leadership recruitment. The search committee has interviewed candidates from across the United States, as well as locally. The search committee has progressed to the stage of making a recommendation to the board of directors.

The executive committee will be conducting a final interview process and then make a recommendation to the full board. It is anticipated the announcing the hiring of a CEO for SEMO Redi in the next few weeks.

I am energized about the new direction and plans for SEMORedi, and I am also excited to serve as chairman this year.

Dwain Hahs is the mayor of Jackson.