Friday’s meeting of the Regional Development Association Board of Directors will be Kent Heermann’s last one as RDA President.
Heermann has led Emporia’s mid-scale and large-scale economic development efforts for 28 years, but that career is coming to a phased end over the next several weeks as Chuck Scott officially takes over Monday. Hermann is the only president the RDA has had during its existence. On KVOE’s Morning Show this week, Heermann said the job and the challenge intrigued him.
Heermann’s first year on the job, 1994, saw two developments that proved integral to the RDA’s success: Menu Foods, later purchased by Simmons Pet Food, announced plans to build a plant in Emporia — while Cessna had Emporia as a finalist for a production plant before going elsewhere. Even though Emporia didn’t land Cessna, Heermann said the development of a half-percent sales tax helped the city build a war chest it used for other projects throughout his tenure.
Heermann says Emporia has done extremely well with the value-added agriculture industry over the past 20 years, notably with pet food. Land availability is always a challenge, especially land that’s shovel-ready for projects, but the city has added the former Renewable Energy Group biodiesel plant site in southeast Emporia back on the roster. Workforce numbers, workforce skills and housing availability will remain challenges, both locally and nationally.
For the meeting, the board will discuss Heermann’s monthly report. An unlisted number of executive sessions are also planned. The meeting starts at 7 am in the Trusler Business Center.
