The Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council will tap the expertise and institutional knowledge of previous Board of Directors Chairmen and Chairwomen with the establishment of a Past Chair’s Club.

“There is a tremendous amount of community and organizational knowledge in former LSEDC chairs, and this new initiative will allow current board members and leaders to tap into that insight and expertise,” said LSEDC President Rick McDowell.

At its first official gathering in July, the former LSEDC leaders shared background about the organization’s origins and historical funding mechanism, the voter-approved “Bed Tax” on hotel and motel revenues. Former LSEDC President Brad Cox said members of the Past Chairs Club welcome the opportunity to re-engage with the organization.

“Once a community or civic leader ‘rolls off’ as Chair and serves a year as Past Chair, then they are kind of out in the hinterlands. The organization has been losing a lot of institutional knowledge and history, and this new effort will rectify that,” Cox said.

The Past Chair Club’s first meeting was held in July at Llywellyn’s in Downtown Lee’s Summit.