After more than a year as interim CEO for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, Jennifer Prather will start a new role with the statewide tourism development agency Mississippi Main Street Association on Oct. 1.
As community development director, Prather will be the liaison between MMSA and its 53 member communities, including Starkville, where she will be based. MMSA’s member communities range in size from larger cities like Gulfport, Biloxi and Tupelo to smaller ones like Byhalia and Saltillo.
Prather is looking forward to doing the same kind of community development work for other cities that she has done for Starkville, she said.
“I’m really excited to help support them in the work that they’re already doing,” Prather said.
Prather’s work for a city within MMSA was a key part of her receiving the job, board president Kevin Stafford said in a Monday press release.
“We look forward to getting her on board and tapping into the energy and new perspectives she brings to the MMSA table,” Stafford said.
Prather joined the Partnership in January 2013 as special events and projects coordinator and later served as director of tourism before she was appointed interim CEO in June 2018. Scott Maynard, the previous CEO, left to become the program director of employer relations at Florida State University’s career center.
Prather has seen the city “grow exponentially” since she first joined the partnership, and she appreciated working with a variety of people and organizations to foster that growth, she said.
“My job gave me the opportunity to work with the community and really get to know the people who make up our success,” she said.
The city’s relationship with Mississippi State University has blossomed, she said, and she is particularly proud of her work to build a connection between the city and the orientation program for incoming MSU freshmen.
“It really allowed us to be the first point of contact for people who were coming to Starkville to make it their home for the next four years,” Prather said.
Mayor Lynn Spruill said she looks forward to continuing to work with Prather in her new role.
“We will certainly miss her creativity and the focus of the events that have made a difference in making us a destination,” Spruill said.
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