Contract extension for interim executive director of the Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership

[March 26, 2014]  Bill Thomas, of Atlanta, accepted an offer made by the Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership at its monthly meeting on Monday to extend his contract through Oct. 31.

Thomas was hired as interim executive director of the development partnership on Feb. 3, with an appointment of 90 days. He was asked to administer the partnership while it, along with Main Street Lincoln, the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County, and the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce worked together as the "Unified Organization Committee" to consider each group's mission, governance, functions and responsibilities, with the aim of providing more effective and efficient services.

At Monday evening's meeting of the development partnership board, chairman Bob Pharis recommended the extension of Thomas' contract, noting it was likely to take more than 90 days for the committee to conclude its work.

Since joining the development partnership several weeks ago, Thomas has focused on a set of 90-day strategic goals he developed, including helping move the city of Lincoln's portion of the Fifth Street Road project forward, working with a sewer extension project designed to expand factory capacity at Heritage Packaging, plus reaching out to the other communities in Logan County to assist with their economic development needs. In accepting the contract extension, Thomas indicated he would now put together a new strategic plan that extends to Oct. 31.

Over the past 20 years, Thomas has been active locally and on the state level with a number of economic development projects, especially related to leveraging tourism for economic development purposes. He brings a background in strategic planning, along with experience in fundraising and grant writing, to this new position with the Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership.

[Text from file received from Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership]