EDSPC Welcomes New Director Jessica Craig

Economic Development Sedalia-Pettis County officially has a new executive director in Jessica Craig, who began her first day on the job today (Monday).

Craig takes over for Linda Christle, who served as director of EDSPC for 12 years after moving from Beatrice, Neb. She is retiring to Florida. Craig was named as her replacement Aug. 26 by the EDSPC board of directors. A two-hour meet-and-great was held for her at the EDSPC offices, 3615 W. Broadway, with dozens of well wishers stopping by to say hi to Jessica and bye to Linda.

Craig said she was super excited about her future with EDSPC. But she is no stranger to economic development.

“I actually started in the economic development field when Linda came to Pettis County,” Craig said. “I'm very fortunate to be coming in and taking advantage of the strong foundation she has built for economic development in the community.”

She added that “our existing companies are poised for a lot of great growth here in the near-term and the long-term future, so I'm very excited to continue that momentum. Who knows? We might have new initiatives, but this is the strongest economic base, I believe, in the state,” Craig stated.

Craig was born and raised in Pettis County, and is a 1999 graduate of Smith-Cotton High School, left Sedalia for college, and has worked in various economic development capacities ever since at the local regional and state levels.

“I'm very excited to bring my experience and commitment to this community in helping to grow our economic base,” Craig. “It's a perfect fit for my experience and a perfect fit for me personally. I'm raising a family here, my husband and I and our family are very invested in this community, and we're here for the long term. I want to see this community grow beyond where it is today.”

Since joining the Missouri Department of Economic Development in 2004, Craig has led economic development efforts resulting in 12,730 new and retained jobs, and $565 million new capital investment throughout the state of Missouri, according to a statement released by EDSPC in August.

Board President Rusty Kahrs said “We have completed an exhaustive and intense search. We conducted a competitive nation-wide search only to find the ideal candidate to fill the position is right here. We wanted a candidate who was passionate about their work and who cared deeply about continuing the relationships that have been built.”

Past President John Swearingen said “I am elated to be able to have Jessica Craig take the helm as our new CEO. She has a good foundation to get started and I know she will take off and not miss a beat to carry our corporation into the future. I stated early on in this search I knew what I wanted in an executive…I am so pleased we have found exactly the type of individual I wanted to fill the position.”

Linda Christle said “I am so happy they have hired Jessica. She is the right individual to help the community continue to move forward. “Sedalia is the greatest and I have loved every minute of my 12 years here. I know it will be in good hands. Jessica will also have a great support staff with our Executive Assistant Betty Wood. They will be a great team.”

Craig said she has sat on the EDSPC board for the past two years with her most recent employment at State Fair Community College. “I'm very familiar with the board members,”she said. “I led the efforts of The Learning Force at SFCC, which is the college's specialized workforce training and education department.”

For more information on economic development in Sedalia and Pettis County, visit

http://www.sedaliamoed.com.