Changes are coming for the Regional Economic Enterprise of Mississippi. Executive Director Lara Bowman has resigned and started a new position at the Cleveland-Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce. Bowman served as the inaugural director of The Enterprise beginning in September 2015. The Enterprise is the economic development organization for Choctaw and Webster Counties. Chad Winter, Enterprise Board President, says the Enterprise will miss her. “I understand Lara moving on. Her new position will not only encompass regional economic development but will include other responsibilities, such as directing tourism. We will miss her,” said Winter. The Enterprise Board of Directors are already working to find the next executive director. “We decided to reach out to colleagues, such as contacts at the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and Mississippi Economic Development Council (MEDC), for their input, prior to posting the position to the public. The Enterprise Board will meet again in early November to finalize our search plan,” said Winter. Another change is for The Enterprise is Winter serving as the new board president. He was elected board president in their October board meeting. Ron Bennett was elected as Vice President. He served as president last year. Winter already has plans for The Enterprise while he is president. “My first priority is to work with our Board to facilitate a successful hiring process for our next Enterprise Executive Director. Next, “I want to ensure the funding secured for our developments at the Red Hills Ecoplex and the Eupora Industrial Park are spent and are seen through completion,” said Winter. “From a broader perspective, I want to continue to work with our existing industries on asset retention and assist our new Director in marketing our county’s assets to new industries,” he added. To help steer The Enterprise forward is the full Enterprise Board that is made of seven people. Two of the board members are appointed by the Choctaw County Board of Supervisors, two appointed by the Webster Board of Supervisors then those four nominate three at-large board members. The Choctaw County Board of Supervisors have appointed Ron Bennett and Luke Jones while the Webster County Board of Supervisors appointed Terry Wills and Jamie Stidham. Jones is new to The Enterprise Board. He was appointed in October. The at-large board members are Kenya Cistrunk, Melissa Vaughn and Chad Winter. All members of the board work together to improve community and economic development in Choctaw and Webster Counties. “I am proud of the way our Choctaw and Webster County members work together and understand that any positive economic or industrial developments in our region is a benefit to all,” said Winter. Economic development work is complex and a lot of the work is done behind the scenes. The Enterprise not only works to recruit new industries and businesses, but they provide support of our current businesses and industries. “We recently assisted in closing the sale of the Alloyd Building in Eupora, and we have continued discussions with project developments that have not been made public. We are very active in working career readiness testing for high school students and workforce development with Holmes Community College,” said Winter about current projects. “Frankly, the impacts of 2020 have slowed, or stalled, many project developments,” he added. The COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed down some projects but The Enterprise still has a lot of to be proud of. “I’m particularly excited about, and proud of, the funding that was secured this past year for continued development of the Red Hills Ecoplex and the Eupora Industrial Park,” said Winter.
