As REDI turns 35, one of its leaders marks 27 years with business development organization

While the age of 35 may not seem magical for some, it is a magical number for Regional Economic Development Inc., said Stacey Button, REDI president Wednesday. The organization was marking its 35th year in operation.

Investors, REDI Hub clients, both current and former board members and local elected officials filled the community room at the Boone Electric Cooperative for the annual meeting and celebration.

It also marked a special anniversary for REDI's Executive Vice President Bernie Andrews, who has worked for the organization for the past 27 years. When asked if he would make it to 30 years, he said he is taking things year by year.

Andrews' bread and butter is business and community development through his work and degrees he received at the University of Missouri.

Before joining REDI he worked for the Missouri Department of Economic Development in a similar role to the one he has at REDI, which is business attraction and expansion. Two major successes in the last year was the opening of Principe Foods and announced expansion of EquipmentShare.

"We have some things in the pipeline that are exciting and could see continued success for Columbia. We have had some good years, some big projects. Hopefully we'll see one or two more in the coming year or two," Andrews said.

Principe Foods under the Swift Prepared Foods umbrella, a subsidiary of JBS USA, is an Italian meats factory on Paris Road/Route B.

It was able to open in Columbia, in part, from Chapter 100 bonds from Boone County, which provides a 75% abatement of property taxes over a 10-year period, provided certain thresholds are met by the company. EquipmentShare went through the same process for its expansion.

The connection Principe has with the community also led to a grant from the JBS Hometown Strong Initiative, supporting a new public park for the Whitegate neighborhood. The park has yet to break ground.

Other significant celebrations for REDI over the last year included the opening of Columbia Regional Airport's new terminal.

The REDI board itself and partnerships with the Downtown Community Improvement District, Missouri Women's Business Center and Central Missouri Community Action will bring The Shops at Sharp End, a minority retail business incubator, to the downtown area.

The Shops at Sharp End is supported by these organizations and an American Rescue Plan Act grant from Boone County of nearly $398,000.

A soft opening is planned next month with formal grand opening in the new year.

"We are currently finalizing exterior signage, interior graphics, assembling furniture, fixtures, and equipment," Button said, adding clients are in the onboarding process. "We also just hired the retail manager who started a couple weeks ago."

The meeting also meant a proverbial changing of the guard, as Ben Ross with Engineering Surveys and Service steps into his role as past chair of the REDI board. It welcomed Todd Hoien as the new chair. Previous past chair Susan Hart of Reinhardt Construction LLC is staying on as an ex-officio member as REDI works on its strategic plan.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Regional Economic Development Inc. looks back at past year