12 People You Need to Know in 2016: Jonas Arjes

Want to bring a business to Branson? Expand operations in Forsyth? Launch a firm in Rockaway Beach? Jonas Arjes wants to be your first point of contact.

Arjes, business development director of the 4-year-old Taney County Partnership, is the man leading efforts across the county.

And his Branson business roots run deep.

Before he helped launch the TCP, Arjes was a risk and benefits adviser with Branson insurance firm Akers & Arney from August 2007 to January 2012. Prior to that, he owned and operated a Schlotzky’s Deli franchise in Branson via JBA Enterprises Inc. for seven years.

“That’s where I learned a lot of what I know in the restaurant industry,” he says, adding he also managed the Plantation restaurant in Branson in the mid-1990s.

His activity in the lakes-area business community led to his opportunity through TCP to help float all boats.

“When I was with Akers & Arney, I got heavily involved in the chamber. Through volunteering there, I was put on the board and was actually chairman-elect in 2011,” he says. “I was on the economic development steering committee, which was looking at forming an economic development effort.”

The committee weighed whether the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau should hire an outside economic-development professional and teach them about the community, or find someone familiar with the local business scene and teach him or her about development. The latter won out, and now Arjes is the guy with his finger on the pulse of business development for the area.

“We felt that if we just did what I call the blocking and tackling of economic development, and stuck to the fundamentals, that would be good to have,” he says, adding the recession crystalized the area’s need for year-round employment. “When the downturn hit, and things started heading south, people started saying, ‘Oh my gosh, if we didn’t have tourism, what would happen to us?’”

Among his accomplishments through the partnership, Arjes has assisted developers with their $10 million Branson museum plans dubbed Fritz’ Adventure, National Enzyme Co.’s expansion in Forsyth and Wisconsin-based Menard Inc.’s efforts to build a home-improvement store in Hollister – which was clearing ground in November.

“The strength of the partnership isn’t with the director, it’s with the partners. Initially, we had nine political subdivisions, the chamber and 12 original investors. Now, we’ve got 10 public sector partners, 27 business partners and the chamber. So, I answer to a board of 38,” he says with a laugh.

Now, through Arjes, the TCP serves as a key point of contact for developers interested in bringing jobs to the county.

“That’s what we want to be, and after four years, I think we are that go-to organization,” he says.