WAPELLO, Iowa — Louisa Development Group, an economic development agency serving Louisa County, begins a search this week for a new executive director.

Mallory Smith of West Liberty, a Peace Corps Fellow at Western Illinois University (WIU), was the group’s first executive director and has held the leadership position for the agency since it organized in January 2004 with 30 charter members and $17,000 in the bank. She first gained the position via an internship  through a contract with WIU. 

Smith said she has no immediate plans and she did not elaborate on why she’s leaving the position.

 LDG Board member Ken Purdy said Smith feels that her expertise is marketing and that has done well so far for the county.  Her mission was to get the development group up and running in a sustainable condition and she has done that. She feels there are other people out there who can take the development group to the next level. 

He said the  LDG board of directors unanimously would like to see her stay.  

Today, Louisa Development Group has more than 135 members and an annual operating budget of nearly $50,000. Smith, who continued the position after her internship ended, is getting ready to train someone new to head up the organization she helped develop.

“I came to Louisa County with the task of working with the board of directors of LDG to create a sustainable economic development organization. We’ve done that,” Smith said. “The final step for me is to hand things over to a new executive director.”

Smith’s contract ends in June, but she said she plans to stay through the end of July when most of Louisa County’s summer events, including Fourth of July celebrations in Grandview and Letts, Chief Wapello Days and the Louisa County Fair, are held.

Louisa Development Group serves Louisa County as an economic development office, chamber of commerce, and convention and tourism bureau, and acts as secretary for the Community Foundation of Louisa County.

“No two days are alike,” Smith said. The group keeps two offices: one with Louisa County Conservation in Wapello and another in the New Iowan Civic Center in Columbus Junction.

With the highest per capita Hispanic population in Iowa and a high number of Hispanic-owned businesses, fluency in Spanish and familiarity with Latin American cultures are an important facet of her job. She said having served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras was an advantage in the position.

“It’s a great job for a person with a variety of interests and a strong commitment to community development,” Smith said.

Smith said economic development professionals come from a wide range of backgrounds including marketing, planning and business administration. It is a discipline that tends to attract people who are self-motivated and flexible. 

The board of directors of Louisa Development Group is seeking applications through May 15 with the goal of selecting a new executive director in June and transitioning leadership in July.

A job description is posted on the LDG Web site at www.louisadevelopmentgroup. org

Contact Connie Street at 319-527-8164 or ckcasey@louisacomm.net