By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President Patt Lilly says he has had a good career in St. Joseph, one of the reasons he plans to stay here after retiring at the end of the year.
Lilly says he feels a little relieved as retirement draws closer and is looking forward to stepping away from the day-to-day responsibilities of the job.
“Looking forward to staying in St. Joseph and finding some way to continue to be involved in the community whatever that looks like,” Lilly tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “It’s been a great run in St. Joe; a good career.”
Lilly retires from the Chamber at the end of the year. Senior Vice President for Membership, Natalie Redmond, has been promoted to take his place.
Lilly came to St. Joseph in 1990 as city manager in wake of a rough period for St. Joseph city managers and even the city manager form of government itself. He says his goal was to be in the position for five years.
“I figured if I could accomplish only that I would have made progress,” Lilly says, “but the nice thing is, working with mayors like Glenda Kelly and Larry Stobbs, we accomplished a lot. And I give them a lot of credit during that period, not only for getting things done, but for making the council-manager form of government work in St. Joseph.”
Lilly served as city manager for six years before being elected as St. Joseph Chamber president in 1996. He left that position to work with Triumph Foods for seven years, then returning to the Chamber as president.
Lilly hired Redmond in 2005 as vice president for membership, calling her a unique candidate for the position.
“Most people would perceive that job as being chief party officer, right? I mean, basically you just do parties and events. Man, that sounds like a great job. I think that when people applied for the job that’s what a lot of them brought to the table,” Lilly says. “But Natalie was different. She actually brought a professional background in event management.”
As Lilly leaves the Chamber, he views the future of economic development to continue to center on workforce development.
“The truth is those communities that can provide the talent, can attract the talent, and retain the talent are the ones that are going to win in the future.”