2026 Day in the Life

One of my favorite Springfield Business Journal features is back – Day in the Life. Through these stories, our team takes you behind the scenes in the day of a leadership association executive, a college president and a downtown advocate.

They each are in varying stages within their roles: Carrie Richardson at the helm of Leadership Springfield for almost eight years, Jeff Frederick nearing the end of his second school year at Drury University and Crystal Quade just a few months into her tenure at the Downtown Springfield Association. They each bring a high degree of energy to their positions and they’ve all mastered the art of connection.

SBJ’s editorial staff followed them to bring you a glimpse into their world, and in the process, we learned a little bit more about who they are as people and leaders. Join us on the pages that follow as we share what we saw in the 2026 Day in the Life. –Christine Temple, Executive Editor