Jon Roberts
Director
Hi everyone! My name is Jon Roberts, and my wife, Allie, and I purchased our first condo in the Branson area right here at the Cove on Indian Point in August 2022! We grew up and currently live in Kansas City. We met in 7th grade gym class, began dating in our Junior year of high school, and tied the knot in August 2011.
I’m an Eagle Scout, avid fisherman, and enjoy woodworking when I can make the time for it.
Professionally, I work with rural areas throughout the Midwest to develop strategies to help attract, retain, and establish businesses in order to spur economic growth and prosperity for often overlooked or forgotten areas. A few projects I’m involved with include:
- American Foods Group – 600,000 sq. ft., $800M beef processing facility located 30 min west of St. Louis. The project will create 1,200 new jobs with an average wage 40% higher than current local average. Our team worked with the regional economic development council to attract AFG to the area and continue to work to keep the project on schedule (operational Q4 2024)
- Montgomery County Mega Site – Missouri does not have a single 1,000+ acre site to attract large advanced manufacturing projects to the state. For the past 7 years, our team has worked with state and local partners to establish a mega site in Montgomery County. In May 2023, DED announced a $5M grant award to the county for the purpose of pre-development activities. This is the first step in getting the site development ready, and we will continue to work for years to come to build funding mechanisms for additional development and to identify the right end-user.
- Monett, MO Business Development – Monett, MO is a major economic driver in SW MO. The city is home to many global and national companies including Jack Henry, EFCO, Schreiber Foods, PlayPower, Tyson, and others. Monett companies employ nearly 6,500 workers, impressive for a rural community with a population of 9,700. Our team works with Monett to establish business development strategies to better serve and grow its existing business community.
Economic development projects are inherently long-term planning projects. It can take years for projects to go from concept to ribbon cutting, so I naturally approach projects from a broad and long-term perspective. I look forward to utilizing my experience to work on impactful projects to help our resort thrive for years to come!