The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas’ diligent planning for the future came to fruition Friday.
During its monthly meeting Friday morning, the RDA Board officially approved its succession plan for the RDA President which has been in development for the past year. Per the plan, if for any reason the current President were unable to fulfill their duties — illness, death, retirement, etc… — the presidency will now pass to the current RDA Board Chair.
The Chair will remain in power until the RDA Board can convene a meeting to decide who will take over as the interim President for the long-term. Current RDA Board Chair Jim Kessler says the new plan gives the board a lot of confidence moving forward.
RDA President Kent Heerman stated he is pleased with the plan saying it is a “logical” step to take.
In other business, the RDA also received an update on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The analysis is a strategic planning tool that assists an organization in identifying specific strengths and areas of improvement related to business competition or project planning.
Carla Barnett compiled the SWOT analysis in which indicated one of the organization’s greatest strengths is in its partnerships with local school districts and higher learning institutions. She tells KVOE News the analysis also indicated improvement is needed when it comes to cohesiveness amongst local government-funded entities.
Additionally, Barnett says the analysis showed great potential for future expansion on national activities in the local community including the annual Dirty Kanza and Glass Blown Open events. In terms of threats, Barnett says the organization needs to avoid becoming stagnant in its local efforts
The RDA Board will reconvene in November for its monthly meeting.
