About

Washington County, Missouri, located just southwest of the St. Louis metro, is home to a hard-working group of workers who enjoy excellent training opportunities. Employers love the fact that the area workforce is loyal and very stable and anchoring to employers.

Training at the K-12 level and at two area higher education institutions are offered in the area as educators work closely with employers, continually listening to employers and adjusting offerings to serve their needs.


Naturally, due to the one-hour proximity to St. Louis, there is a base of prospective workers who would prefer working in Washington County rather than spending hours driving to and from work each day. Our location is central to the population of the United States, offering strong advantages to manufacturers and distributors who ship product nationally.

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THE ORGANIZATION

Mission

To promote the economic prosperity of Washington County 

 

Vision

To increase the overall quality of life through economic prosperity 

by the enhancement of the local quality of life through increased job opportunities, educating and training a strengthened work ethic within the local workforce. 

Purpose

The Washington County IDA’s original bylaws outlined the purpose of the organization. “The purposes for which this corporation was organized were to develop, advance, encourage and promote, subject to the limitations imposed by the Industrial Development Authority Act, as amended from time to time, commercial, industrial, agriculture and manufacturing facilities in Washington County, Missouri and its residents.”

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the purpose shall include the following: 

  1. To acquire, construct, reconstruct, enlarge, improve, furnish, equip, maintain, repair, lease finance and sell plants, buildings, structures and facilities, whether or not now in existence, including without limitation the real estate and the required fixtures, equipment and machinery, used or to be used as a factory, assembly plant, manufacturing plant, processing plant, fabricating plant, distribution center, warehouse building, office building or facilities for the prevention, reduction or control of pollution; and 
  2. To do and perform any and all other things necessary or desirable with respect to a Project (as defined in the Industrial Development Authority Act, as amended from time to time) or Projects to the extent permitted by or contemplated by the Industrial Development Authorities. 
  3. In general, to carry on any other activities in connection with each and all of the foregoing or incidental thereto; and to have and exercise each and all of the powers and privileges, either direct or incidental, which are given and provided by or are available under the laws of the State of Missouri in respect of industrial development corporations; provided, however, that the corporation shall not engage in any activity for which a corporation organized under the Industrial Development Authority Act may not be formed under the laws of the State of Missouri. 

THE TEAM

Executive DirectorKristaSynder1

Krista Snyder, native of Potosi, Missouri joined the Washington County Industrial Development Authority Team in April of 2009. With more than seventeen-years’ experience in marketing and ten-years’ experience in Economic Development she also holds a degree in applied physics with a minor in computer aided drafting and design to implement marketing methods utilized by the organization. Implementing the skillsets in marketing, economic development and business management has contributed to the expansion with growth in the Industrial Park and throughout the county. Operating under an annual 4M$ budget to develop infrastructure projects; spec building construction, business negotiations to create job opportunities while maintaining support with eighteen local manufacturing companies for retention and expansion options. 

Snyder’s community involvement has been by actively serving in positions on various boards to support local organizations and be a resource to regional and state level programs while expanding the network of professional contacts.  Recent 2019 - 2020 graduate of the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) Delta Leadership Institute (DLI) and also serves as Co-Director for Region 7 of the Missouri Economic Development Council while sharing experiences with the region’s economic portal and connect with subject matter experts to build a repertoire with knowledge and experience to assist in future developmental projects. 

Board of Directors

President - Paul F. Villmer, DDS  (current term 2016 - 2022) 

Vice President – Jon Turner (current term 2019 - 2025) 

Secretary – Fran Pashia (current term 2019 – 2025)

Director – Marty Simpson (current term 2021 – 2027)

Director – Donald Thompson (current term 2017 – 2023)

Director – Craig Portell (current term 2017 – 2023)

Director – Reggie Rowe (current term 2017 – 2023)