GSDP Board

Chamber Advisory Board

Convention and Visitors Bureau Board (CVB)

Oktibbeha County Economic Development Association (OCEDA) Board

Starkville Main Street Association Board

Jennifer Gregory

Jennifer Gregory, Chief Operating Officer, VP Tourism Development/Main Street Manager

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Jennifer graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Her professional experience includes being Special Events & Projects Coordinator in the Office of the President at Mississippi State University and the first Welcome Center Coordinator of the Mississippi State University Welcome Center. While in college, Jennifer served as Fundraising Coordinator for Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham, Inc. where she created the Community Youth Program for high school students in the Birmingham area.

The combination of Jennifer’s event planning experience and schooling in Marketing has led to a new approach to the tourism program at the GSDP, since joining the organization in May 2009. Working with a team to create successful events like Pumpkinpalooza have provided Starkville with unprecedented notoriety and publicity in print and online media outlets. Because of the growth of the Starkville CVB, the community was chosen in 2010 as a Mississippi Main Street community, and under Jennifer’s leadership, the Starkville Main Street program was formed with a membership of over 80% of downtown businesses.

Jennifer sits on the board of the Friends of the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum and United Way of Northeast Mississippi and is a graduate of both the Staff Leadership Program at MSU and the Starkville-Oktibbeha County FORUM Leadership Program.

• Manages the Starkville Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Starkville Main Street program

Austin Shafer, VP Membership and Chamber of Commerce

Austin Shafer

Austin graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations.
Austin’s business career started when he was fourteen, working for a well-known local men’s store, George Sherman Clothiers.  Upon graduation from Mississippi State, Austin was named Specialty Brand Manager for Cash Distributing Company in neighboring Columbus, where he worked for 2 years.  In 2007, he returned to Starkville as Director of Marketing for Dux D’ Lux Advertising, which was a family business in the community for over 30 years.  Austin left Starkville for Houston, Texas, in 2009 to take over as a territory manager for a Mississippi-based furniture manufacturing company for whom he aggressively grew the territory.  In 2011, Austin and his growing family returned home, where he accepted the position as Vice President of Membership and Chamber of Commerce.

Responsibilities

• Manages the Chamber of Commerce  and is the primary membership contact

Business Manager Shelby Stevenson, Business Manager
Responsibilities include: office management, property management, and bookkeeping

A highlight of the year for Partnership members and other community leaders is the annual banquet hosted by the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.

The banquet brings together those interested and involved in economic development, community development, and tourism to celebrate the year’s successes and to hear about latest trends and opportunities from prominent state and local leaders.

A much-anticipated part of the program is the conferring of awards on those who have provided exemplary leadership and service. Among the coveted awards are the

• R. Clay Simmons Exemplary Enterprise Award
• T.E Veitch Community Service Award
• Crystal Pineapple Tourism Award
• Oktibbeha County Industry of the Year Award
• Service to the Military Award
• Ambassador of the Year Award
• Starkville Area Education Hall of Fame Inductees

Held annually in late January, members of the general public as well as Partnership members are invited to attend. For ticket information, contact the GSDP at (662) 323-3322.

Helping area students and their schools succeed is the goal of Project CLASS: Community Leaders Assisting Schools for Success.

Through the project, a neighborhood church or other organization teams up with a local business to “adopt” a nearby third-grade classroom in one of the Starkville or Oktibbeha County public schools. Volunteers are educated and equipped to directly support students, teachers, and principals in a number of ways. Core goals are to improve reading and math skills so students can perform at grade level by the end of third grade.

Teachers of classrooms that have been adopted consult periodically with the volunteers about the health and welfare of the students and about needs for additional support.

Project CLASS volunteers may

• serve as mentors and tutors for at-risk students
• recruit others from their organization or business to provide direct instructional support
• assist the students most in need by providing help of various kinds.

In some cases, volunteers handle noninstructional tasks so teachers can concentrate on their primary mission of educating students.

Over 140 volunteers have been trained to take part in the program and more volunteers are added to the rolls regularly. All third-grade classrooms in the Starkville and Oktibbeha County schools have been adopted, along with a number of fourth-grade classrooms in the Starkville School District. We hope to grow to eoncompass as many classrooms as possible with Project CLASS.

For more information or to enroll as a volunteer, call the Greater Starkville Development Partnership at (662) 323-3322.

The Starkville Main Street program provides the opportunity for businesses, industries, and individuals to cooperate in preserving the city’s historic downtown area, enhancing its vitality, and making it highly attractive to residents and visitors alike.

Members strive to ensure that existing downtown businesses remain successful and that new businesses are attracted to the area. They work together to enhance the appearance of the Main Street area, publicize the shopping and dining opportunities, and plan special events that will draw people to spend time in that part of the city.

Starkville Main Street operates with the support of the Mississippi Main Street Association, a joint program of the Mississippi Development Authority and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The state and national programs assist by providing training, information, and other services.

For more information about the Starkville Main Street program, contact Jennifer Gregory at the Greater Starkville Development Partnership at (662) 323-3322.

Support for events designed to increase tourism in the Starkville area is available through grants from the Convention and Visitors Bureau Division of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.

In recent years, grants totaling up to $50,000 have been awarded to sponsoring organizations. To qualify for funding, the event must have broad appeal and be able to attract participants from outside the Oktibbeha County area.

The primary focus is on helping tourism events become established and self-supporting, although sustaining grants are provided for certain programs that have demonstrated a significant positive impact in previous years.

Grants may cover part or all of the eligible expenses. See the application guidelines for full details, including eligibility requirements, application procedures, selection process and criteria, and other details.

Applications

Applications must be received by July 16 each year. Applicants will be notified of their application status within 30 days. CVB Sponsorship applications are available online or may be picked up at the Welcome Center in the Greater Starkville Development Partnership offices at 200 East Main Street in Starkville.

Information required on the application form includes

• project description
• identification of the target audience
• potential for economic return
• marketing plan
• methods for tracking and measuring project success
• proposed budget.

The Greater Starkville Development Partnership offers several programs and holds events throughout the year that support their mission.  The following programs and events are held annually. Click on a link below to learn more.

• CVB Sponsorship Program
• Main Street Starkville
• Project CLASS
• Annual Banquet

Chamber of Commerce Programs

The Chamber of Commerce has several programs to promote businesses and the Starkville/Oktibbeha County community. Click on a link below to learn more about these programs.

• Blue Ribbon Seminar Series
• Get Swept Up!
• Oktibbeha County Leadership FORUM
• Shop Starkville
• Starkville Business Exchange
  

Mission

The mission of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership (GSDP) is to promote a healthy and sustainable Starkville and Oktibbeha County by enhancing the quality of life for all citizens through

• an aggressive and diversified approach for business growth and job creation
• enhanced tourism and retirement opportunitites
• involvement in progressive educational and other community initiatives.

Structure

Three divisions comprise the Partnership:

• Starkville Area Chamber of Commerce
• Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority
• Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau & Main Street Association

Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber focuses community resources on fostering economic and community development and enhancing the quality of life by

• providing educational seminars and workshops to the business community
• sponsoring ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new members
• serving as a liaison for businesses and organizations in promoting community news and events
• sponsoring events and programs for the business community and for community development.

Economic Development Authority

The Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority promotes the creation and retention of jobs in the county by

• ensuring that suitable property and facilities are available for new and expanding enterprises
• providing services to existing businesses and industries
• supporting efforts to recruit new businesses and industries.

Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) & Main Street Association

The CVB promotes the greater Starkville area as a tourist destination and a Mississippi Main Street Association community by

• sponsoring or cosponsoring events such as the Downtown Block Party, Christmas Open House, Starkville Holiday Bazaar, and Pumpkinpalooza
• offering tourism grants for events that lead to an economic impact
• applying for grants for workshops and events to improve our community.

The mission of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership (GSDP) is to promote a healthy and sustainable Starkville and Oktibbeha County by enhancing the quality of life for all citizens through business growth and job creation, tourism and retirement opportunities, and progressive educational and community initiatives. The GSDP is comprised of the Starkville Area Chamber of Commerce, Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority, Starkville Convention  and Visitors Bureau, and the Starkville Main Street Association.