Starkville’s leading economic developer, Jon Maynard, president and CEO of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, abruptly resigned from his position Wednesday.
“I’m not making a statement,” Maynard said Wednesday. “The (GSDP) can speak for itself.”
Rumors circulated Maynard was asked to step down, but a statement issued by GSDP Board Chairman Steve Langston gave no indication Maynard was fired.
“The Greater Starkville Development Partnership (GSDP) Board of Directors has voted to accept the resignation of President/CEO Jon Maynard, effective immediately,” GSDP Board Chairman Steve Langston said in a statement Wednesday. “The GSDP Board thanks Jon for his years of service to the community of Starkville and Oktibbeha County. We thank Jon for his service to our community and the organization. In the interim, Chief Operations Officer Jennifer Gregory will be the point of contact for the GSDP office.”
Gregory said the GSDP will continue its day-to-day functions in Maynard’s absence.
“Our team will continue with our daily duties and will work together to maintain the mission of the GSDP,” she said. “The GSDP Board will determine how to move forward at the appropriate time.”
Columbus-Lowndes Development Link CEO Joe Max Higgins said he was “shocked” when he heard the news of Maynard’s departure.
“I’m still trying to get my head around this,” Higgins said. “(Jon Maynard) was my friend. I think he did a good job for Starkville. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner on the projects we worked on together. He was a good guy; I enjoyed working with him. All I know is that I was told he resigned. I do not know why.”
Higgins said the Link has not been in talks with the GSDP to form a partnership, like one recently formed in West Point.
Maynard accepted the position at the GSDP in 2008, after working as a vice-president with the Northwest Louisiana Economic Development Foundation in Shreveport, La. He also sits on the board of directors for the Mississippi Economic Development Council, as well as the Southern Economic Development Council.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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