Jackson believes West Plains positioned well for growth

Joe Jackson has big dreams.

One is that each of the three very different, strong communities on the West Plains has an LED reader board mounted at the main entrance to each city, advertising all upcoming events taking place and proudly displaying the chamber's logo.

That may take a while, so for now, the new West Plains Chamber of Commerce executive director will settle for the new backdrop he had printed as one of his first acts at the helm of the 300-plus member organization. The backdrop, which also displays the names of large chamber sponsors, is a step on the road to Jackson's mission to create more of a public presence and permanence for the organization.

Other steps in that direction include learning the needs of current members as well as former members, asking the latter what the chamber can do to get them to return. Several current and former members have told Jackson the chamber doesn't do anything for them.

"Our bottom line is we need to help member businesses increase their bottom line," Jackson said.

Jackson has roots in the area. A 2002 graduate of Southridge High School in Kennewick, he attended Eastern Washington University for a couple years, but drifted around in coursework.

He decided one way to focus was in the military, and left to join the U.S. Army. Jackson spent five years in the service, getting shipped around the globe to "all the places you never want to be at" including Iraq.

After taking medical retirement for injuries sustained in Baghdad in 2006 - his unit was hit on four or five different occasions by IEDs and went through several firefights - Jackson attended Pierce College in Tacoma, receiving his AA degree in 2011 in business administration. He earned a direct transfer to any four-year school he wanted, and feeling he had unfinished business, he chose EWU, graduating with a bachelor's degree in communications in 2013.

From January to April 2013, Jackson began the "internship that never ended," serving in state Sen. Michael Baumgartner's office in Olympia. The internship turned into a full time legislative assistant position, something Jackson enjoyed because it enabled him to get out into Baumgartner's Sixth Legislative District as the senator's representative at events, including events sponsored by the West Plains Chamber of Commerce.

Jackson bought a house in Northwest Spokane, while also renting an apartment in Olympia. Realizing he couldn't continue doing both, and deciding it was time to get out of the hot and cold rat race of the legislative business - hot and tumultuous during sessions, cold and lonely otherwise - Jackson called former West Plains Chamber Executive Director Kathleen Schreiber to see if she knew of employment opportunities.

She did - hers. Schreiber was leaving the chamber to go to work for Cheney Federal Credit Union, and she encouraged Jackson to apply, which he did, beginning work on April 1.

Jackson sees the chamber as a solid organization with a lot of opportunity to strengthen the region. He said there is a "war on business" taking place in Olympia, and feels the chamber well positioned to help local businesses express their interests and concerns to legislators.

As a veteran, working with Fairchild Air Force Base for the region's benefit is another plus. He also believes there's a lot of local development and entrepreneurship talent, especially at Eastern Washington University where the computer science, robotics and electrical engineering programs are among the best in the state.

Jackson would like to see the chamber work to keep a lot of that graduating talent in the region. All this combined has him believing that business development and opportunities on the West Plains is more than just a dream.

"The West Plains is a blank canvas for companies to come here and develop, expand," he said.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.