MCP Directory

By Randy Rice Special to McDonald County Reconnection John Newby, President & CEO of the McDonald County Chamber of Commerce, sees a bright future ahead for McDonald County businesses and the communities they serve. "The goals for the McDonald County Chamber are many," John began. "First off, we simply want to be the best chamber in the region and provide our members with the necessary resources to grow. In addition to the usual tasks taken on by a chamber, we also want to tackle economic development and tourism in a big way. Additionally, we are in the process of building a countywide marketing agency geared to assist all our businesses with their marketing needs." John is the perfect person to lead the chamber's marketing efforts, having spent 28 years in the media business in several revenue producing positions. John founded the 360 Media Alliance, a news-media industry think-tank, and is the creator of Truly-Local which is designed to create synergies throughout the community involving chambers, media, government, and business leaders. He believes these critical synergies are what it takes to build stronger community foundations from which to build stronger, loyal and more vibrant communities for the future. Over the past few years, he has worked with dozens of communities in their transformation and revitalization efforts. John is also the author of a national column called Building Main Street, Not Wall Street. The column works in tandem with an easily adoptable process for small communities that help the entire community understand what being Truly-Local is and the importance of being unique and vibrant. "I have enjoyed writing Building Main Street, Not Wall Street for the past three plus years," he said. "It now appears in about 60 newspapers around the country." Some of the other initiatives the chamber is spearheading include a student chamber that will eventually be a model for other chambers in the region to follow. "We have recently remodeled our chamber offices and have also secured the building next door to create the new McDonald County Entrepreneurial and Innovation Center," he said. "We are undertaking many aggressive grant writing projects that have the ability to transform and revitalize many of our businesses and downtowns." John is relatively new to the area and only started with the chamber in April of last year. "Throughout my career, I have always been associated with Chambers and/or Main Streets in each community I have lived," he said. "When moving to McDonald County in 2021 to get a little closer to nature, I joined the chamber and volunteered to serve on the marketing committee, something I have always loved doing. It wasn't long before Shawn Cooper, the board Chairman, asked if I might be willing to take on the role of Executive Director. After a month or so of consideration, I decided that it may be a great fit and allow me to not do as many consulting jobs which require travel. The position was recently changed to President & CEO." John believes McDonald County has many opportunities and challenges. "One of the main challenges we face is that of image," he said. "For far too long, we have allowed others outside of our county to tell our story and paint the story of what and who we are. That must end, we must build our own brand and tell our story, a story that is exciting, compelling and draws interest. Our future can be very exciting, let's go out and tell that story." John is excited to be in his position at the chamber and is quick to acknowledge the great support team he has working alongside him. "I would be remiss if I didn't mention our board of directors and the great support that they provide," he said. "A great chamber will only be as good as the board that supports them. We also need to thank the nearly 100 volunteers that provide added support on many of our chamber projects. It takes an army to make sustainable change, we are in the process of building that army." John Newby: An experienced leader with a bold vision for McDonald County "We must build our own brand and tell our story, a story that is exciting, compelling and draws interest. Our future can be very exciting, let's go out and tell that story." ˜ John Newby Main Library: 808 Bailey Rd. Pineville, MO 417-223-4489 M-F 8-6 Saturday - 9-1 Noel Community Library: 626 Johnson Dr. Noel, MO 417-475-3223 M-F 10-5 Saturday - 9-1 Anne Croxdale Memorial Library: 102 N Main Street Southwest City, MO 417-762 READ (7323) Tues-Fri 10-6 Saturday - 9-1 www.mcdonaldcountylibrary.org About the library... Our libraries are much more than "just a warehouse of books!" We also offer: Movies, Audiobooks, Genealogy Assistance, Children's Programs, Microfilm Machine, Public Access Computers, Free Wireless Internet and Fishing Poles. Online Resources include: Missouri Libraries 2 Go, Libby (Downloadable audio, ebooks, and magazines.) WolfnerTalking Books and Braille, HeritageQuest, Brainfuse VetNow, ROSEN digital, EBSCO Host, Teen Health and Wellness, and much more. Let's Get Acquainted... All FREE with YouR libRARY CARd! 4 2023

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