LOOGOOTEE — The Martin County Alliance for Economic Growth Board of Directors hired local businesswoman Jessica Potts as the organization’s new executive director. The Martin County Alliance for Economic Growth is an organization charged with leading business attraction, retention, and expansion efforts in Martin County.
Potts is excited to work with local cities and towns as well as civic organizations and Chambers of Commerce to help promote Martin County. She enjoys the challenge of getting projects completed on a budget and has a passion for bringing everyone to the table to accomplish goals.
Mike Arvin, president of the Alliance board stated, “I am very excited to have Jessica Potts join the Alliance as our executive director. We have made great progress over the last year in our Martin County community and Jessica has the talent, skills and love for our community to lead us into the future.”
A Martin County native, Jessica graduated from Loogootee High School and went on to continue her education at the University of Southern Indiana with a bachelor’s degree in health services with concentrations
in gerontology and health administration. She has diverse work experience ranging from workforce development to defense contracting. In her most recent position, she worked for the Southern Indiana Development Commission (SIDC) to help the five-county region they serve to develop an economic recovery and resiliency plan. Additionally, she served as a liaison between local governments, nonprofit organizations and the EDA to help identify and acquire grant resources.
Martin County is home to NSA Crane, the third-largest U.S. naval installation in the world. Other primary industries include mining, agriculture, and small business. Affordable housing, natural beauty in the scenic landscape, and short commutes to major employers are only a few of its many strengths to attract business and workforce to the area.
Potts will work closely with Radius Indiana on projects related to economic development. Radius is an eight-county regional economic development organization that includes Martin County.
“We’re delighted to have Jessica as a partner who can direct us on promoting and serving economic development in Martin County communities. We’ve already been impressed with her work ethic and her creativity when we’ve collaborated with her on projects in her SIDC capacity. Her experience in the defense industry and with SIDC will be extremely valuable and we look forward to the success to come,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius.
Jessica enjoys being a part of her small rural community in Loogootee where she resides with her husband Mark, and their two children Judd and Morgan.
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