Springfield Business Journal_2021-02-22

24 · SBJ.NET FEB. 22-28, 2021 NEWS The Challenge is great but brighter days are ahead Technology Focused. Service Driven. (417) 831-7077 info@PittTechnologyGroup.com Our sleeves are rolled up and ready to help you write YOUR Come Back Story. Our sleeves are rolled up and ready to help you write YOUR come back story. The challenge is great, but brighter days are ahead. “It’s going to be basica lly a hybrid mix of business continuity, planning and di- saster response,” she said. “It’s sitting down with businesses and helping them assess what their weaknesses are and helping them make and implement a plan for what happens if something like a pan- demic happens.” Councilors will conduct initial interviews to gather base data, Evans said, adding she will follow up with businesses to drill down on their preparations for the unexpected and knowledge of available resources. Evans joins SMCC as the nonprofit seeks to grow its fiscal 2022 budget to roughly $360,000 from $150,000, Sitzes said. The or- ganization’s board of directors has identified a $500,000 stretch goal for its five-year plan dubbed StepUp Christian County. “My goal is to have that $360,000 bud- get secured by the end of June,” she said, noting the new fiscal year begins in July. The initial $150,000 in funding for SMCC was raised by Steve Childers, Ozark city administrator, and Brian Bingle, for- mer Nixa city administrator, Sitzes said, noting they secured pledges from 41 investors with five-year memorandums of understanding. In the StepUp plan, the nonprofit seeks funding in partnership with area business- es, public institutions, community leaders and individual stakeholders. The largest single figure in the budget goal is $100,880 per year for business retention and expan- sion. It also calls for $72,000 annually for business attraction; $68,400 for entrepre- neurship initiatives; $64,800 for work- force and talent recruitment; and $54,000 for marketing. A capital campaign had just launched early last year before being suspended amid the pandemic, Sitzes said. Late last year, SMCC secured $50,000 annual com- mitments from Christian County and the cities of Nixa and Ozark. Ozark’s annual commitment runs for five years, while Christian County’s is three years and the length of Nixa’s contract agreement should be finalized next month, she said. “Because we wanted to hit the ground running and get with our business com- munity, they were able to go ahead and deposit those funds,” Sitzes said. “That allowed us to make this first step in our growth plan for the next year.” Chamber search As Evans looks to exit her Ozark cham- ber role next month, an executive director selection committee is being formed from community partner organizations, said Adam Kreher, board chair. “In the event a replacement is not named prior to Anna’s departure, the committee will appoint an interim executive director to carry forth daily operations,” Kre- her said via email. Evans planned to take a marketing job at the Spring- field Area Chamber of Commerce early last year – a move she said the pan- demic prevented from happening. Staying at the Ozark chamber for the rest of 2020 was for the best, she said. “Our members and our businesses need- ed that stability and that continuity and that sustained leadership there,” she said. “It was just not a good time either for the organization internally to be looking for somebody, and we wouldn’t have been serving our members well if we didn’t have leadership at that point. “I’m better prepared now to do a good job in the position that I’m going into be- cause of the work we did as a chamber this past year in the midst of COVID.” The addition of Evans means the SMCC staff will be out of room within Nixa City Hall, where it has officed since 2018. “Our board is looking at options for of- fice space. We haven’t locked anything in yet but have identified a couple of op- tions,” Sitzes said, noting a decision should be made by April. Web Editor Geoff Pickle contributed. Show Me: Organization sets stretch goal of $500K in five-year plan Continued from page 3 Andrea Sitzes: Investments are secured from Nixa, Ozark and Christian County.