2019 40 Under 40: Megan Short, 31

SBJ photo by Wes Hamilton

As executive director and sole employee for the Springfield Contractors Association, Megan Short wears lots of hats leading 335 member companies and overseeing 14 committees and 25 annual events for the nonprofit group.

She also is a member of SCA’s scholarship committee, which selects college students pursuing a degree related to construction or design. In summer 2018, Short served on a workforce development task force for the statewide Talent for Tomorrow initiative, her proudest accomplishment. Short was selected this year to serve on the leadership council for The Network, the chamber’s group for young professionals.

What was your first job? My first job outside of the farm and babysitting was a hostess position at Mexican Villa South.

What about your job would shock people? I periodically get to put on a hard hat and tour jobsites with members of the association.

What is your best productivity hack? Make time to really focus on one specific task when you’re on a deadline.

What did you learn the hard way? Communication must be a two-way street. It’s easy to just assume something is complete, but you can’t always assume no news is good news.

How many times do you hit the snooze button? Some mornings, I’m up five minutes before my alarm even goes off, then others I max out the number of times I can hit snooze.