Development Corporation of Snyder (DCOS) Executive Director Brooke Proctor will resign her position in March to return to Lubbock with her family, she announced Saturday. Proctor has served as the DCOS’s executive director since March 2018.
“Our home is Lubbock. My husband was born and raised in Lubbock and I lived in Lubbock after I graduated from Tech for 20 years, so it’s just home for us. My husband needs to be closer to an airport. My mother-in-law is getting older and needs more assistance. Lubbock is just home. Our son is transferring from WTC to Tech, so it’s just a good time for the family to go back home.”
Proctor said she achieved several strategic goals during her time serving as DCOS director.
“My first charge was to kind of try to bring some unity back between the community and the DCOS. I worked really hard on getting involved regionally and getting our name out there amongst the economic development groups in the region and the state. I made some good connections there. Advertising the DCOS. We’re advertising our land commercially, and we’ve gotten some good leads off of that. Moving forward with housing development. Just giving Snyder more exposure and just opening us up to places where we were closed off before.”
Proctor said she doesn’t currently have a job lined up in Lubbock.
“I’m looking for a job in Lubbock, of course. Like I said, I have a son in college, so it’s kind of important,” she laughed.
The DCOS board accepted Proctor’s resignation Saturday — which will be effective March 27.
“Unfortunately, I reluctantly accept your resignation,” DCOS president Bill Robertson told Proctor during Saturday’s meeting.
“I think you had some pretty big things to overcome, and I think you overcame them,” board member Kirsta Koennecke said.
Robertson said the DCOS board may amend the corporation’s bylaws concerning the executive director’s position, so no details are available about when or if a replacement will be selected.
In other business, the only votes in the meeting arose as a result of discussion during closed executive session, Proctor said.
“The only vote was about our local business that wants to expand, and a company that is looking at land in the industrial park from California,” Proctor said.
“The vote there was for me to continue negotiations with them.”
Proctor declined to name either business, but said both are in manufacturing industries.
While the board brainstormed additional items as part of its goal setting, no further decisions were made.
Development along U.S. Highway 84 was one of those discussion items.
“It was still just brainstorming. We were all just throwing stuff out there to see where we can grow and where our potential is,” Proctor said. “(Highway) 84 has always been an issue for me, because I feel like we don’t have enough exposure, and you just pass through Snyder and see us here. You’ve got to give people a reason to stop. So there’s talk on (highway) 84 of a potential travel center coming in. There’s discussion about that.”
Target industries including manufacturing, warehousing or a call center, were also discussed, as were possibilities for attracting business and industry to Snyder’s rail and industrial parks.
Board members also discussed the possibility of bringing a rehabilitation facility to Snyder.
“That’s been a big topic. We don’t have a rehab facility of any sort in town, and how can we best help these people, and what can we do as a town?”
Proctor said she’s discussed the issue with the Scurry County Ministerial Alliance.
“That’s been a topic. We need rehab, and I think they’re also looking at kind of an emergency housing situation,” she said.
Board members also discussed recruiting entrepreneurs to take over ownership of existing businesses from retiring owners, as well as starting new businesses in Snyder.
“We talked a lot about kind of trying to find a way that we can help with succession plans. The local businesses that have been here forever, that are probably looking close to retirement… how do we help those folks with a succession plan, either with a new buyer, or somebody that’s willing to take that business over and keep these businesses in Snyder, which is really vital?”
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