The Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership has five years of ensuring healthy regional growth under its belt. The partnership is a program of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. and partner members throughout the region. Allen Kunkel, manager of regional development for Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said the partnership’s most important accomplishments are the relationships it has built among city managers throughout its service area. The Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership serves 67 cities in 10 southwest Missouri counties: Greene, Barry, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Lawrence, Polk, Stone, Taney and Webster. During its five-year tenure, the partnership’s budget increased from $75,000 to $100,000. That money is used to help the organization meet its two-fold mission. “One of our goals is to promote regional cooperation – which is an ongoing thing – to make sure that people are working together whenever possible to address the entire region or a few communities … ,” Kunkel said. That type of collaborative effort hasn’t always been practiced in the Ozarks. “When I first got here, there were organizations in the same community that weren’t even communicating or working toward the same goal. Now, you’re seeing the city, the local chambers and even the counties working together for the same goals. That’s probably the most encouraging thing to see happening,” Kunkel added. The Ozarks Regional Eco-nomic Partnership’s main goal, though, is giving participating entities the tools to create jobs and to encourage investment in rural communities. Ken Lupton, president of the Sparta Community Develop-ment Organization, has found membership in the partnership to be beneficial. The SCDO is the driving force behind Sparta’s Industrial Park, which added its first tenant – Hood’s Propane – in May 2004. The small Christian County community is dealing with issues related to the industrial park and with residential growth. “Anytime you’re trying to do something, two heads are better than one. If you sit down and talk to other people (and) run through the problem, you can get some more answers. You can help them, and they can help you,” Lupton said, noting that other members of the partnership have provided lots of information and ideas for dealing with growth. Kunkel said that while the Ozarks has a lot to offer an incoming business, he noted that one of the partnership’s many challenges is promoting a positive regional identity for southwest Missouri. “We live in southwest Missouri, the Ozarks region. But if you get out of the Midwest, that has a negative connotation, so we work really hard to promote the hard work ethic and natural beauty and quality of life that we have here,” Kunkel said. “Making sure that businesses understand the opportunities that we have here is always a challenge. Obviously, local businesses know, and a lot of them are expanding, but to get new businesses to look at this area is an ongoing opportunity and challenge.” For some of the participating communities, the partnership is something of a catch-all resource for dealing with a wide range of issues. For example, Kunkel said, early in the partnership’s existence, he received a phone call that the grocery store in Humansville was going to lose its pharmacist. “That was a huge economic impact for them because they have a large elderly population and they don’t want to drive all the way to Bolivar for medication,” Kunkel said. “I didn’t know anything about finding a pharmacist, but we hooked them up with some people, and they found a way to make some things happen.” The Ozarks Regional Community Development Corporation, an extension of the partnership, is a for-profit entity that provides small-business lending. The corporation has a separate board of directors. “We have done one loan so far and have one under review. So that’s another element that we can add,” he said. The initial loan, according to the corporation’s annual report, provided gap financing for Downhill Bikes & Accessories in Branson. In the next five years, Kunkel hopes to continue building bonds among the communities in the region, because those relationships will remain vital as the region continues to grow. “You’re not going to stop the growth, so how do you deal with it?” he said. “Well, you manage it responsibly. If every community is not managing it in a responsible manner, there are going to be pockets of disaster out there.” Also critical, he said, is to make sure that needs for things such as infrastructure, health care and education are considered and addressed properly. [[In-content Ad]]
