Proctor reflects on her time at DCOS

Image
  • Development Corporation of Snyder Executive Director Brooke Proctor will resign her post March 27.
    Development Corporation of Snyder Executive Director Brooke Proctor will resign her post March 27.
Body

More than anything, Brooke Proctor is going to miss Snyder’s people and its charm — not to mention something that’s a headache in most large cities.
“You know what I’ll miss? I’ll miss that there’s no traffic,” she said. “I’ll miss that. And the charm. Snyder is a charming town. I’m going to miss the charm, and the fact that you can go into the grocery store and talk to your friends and neighbors. I will greatly miss the people and the connections that I’ve made here.” 
Proctor, the Development Corporation of Snyder’s (DCOS) executive director, will spend her last day at the office here on March 27.
She’s moving her family back to Lubbock, where they lived before moving to Snyder.
“Just a few more weeks. We are moving to Lubbock. We’ve been in Snyder 10 years. I was born and raised in Houston, so went from Houston to Lubbock and Snyder, so that was kind of a drastic turn of events for me,” Proctor said. “I’ve found is that small-town life is charming. The best thing about it is, the people are fantastic. I’ve made amazing friends. Met people that I never would have met before moving here.”
Proctor said she doesn’t have a job lined up in Lubbock, but is confident about finding one in the near future.
“I’m still looking,” Proctor said, adding that she doesn’t plan to seek a job similar to her Snyder job when she moves to Lubbock. “Being the face of a taxing entity may not be the thing I want to start over with again. There’s tons of opportunities in Lubbock, so I’m open to anything. Something new and exciting, perhaps.”
Proctor said she’s learned a lot during her approximately two years with the DCOS.
“It was a challenge coming in. I came in new, without the economic development experience, just being a small business owner prior,” she said. “So I dug in and had to learn a lot. I’ve come a long way. It hasn’t been quite two years yet, and I feel like I’ve grown enormously as an individual based on this.” 
Some of the accomplishments Proctor said she’s proud of are helping bring a new apartment complex to the area, to be located on Hwy. 350 near the Fairfield Inn and Suites.
“We’re very excited about the new apartment complex that’s still in the works, but they’re moving farther than they’ve ever moved before. Housing is one of our bigger issues,” she said. 
She also pointed out a re-lending program through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“We have the re-lending program through the USDA that we’ve helped a lot of small businesses with. That’s something we’ve been proud of, absolutely.”
One of Proctor’s priorities upon being hired was community relations.
“Building a relationship with the community, that’s something we’ve worked hard on. And trying to get creative with how we can grow as a small town. It’s a struggle, and it’s slow. But how do we get creative? How do we create a framework for those businesses so that businesses can come in? We need to get creative with all the entities, the city and the county, and try to provide some incentives. Not just monetary, but when businesses come to us, we can lay it all out and say ‘Here’s what Snyder can do for you.’ I think that’s a goal moving forward.”
Mark McClain was a member of the DCOS board for six years and board president for three years. He said Proctor has been a great asset to Snyder.
“I think she’s done a fantastic job, really. Healing relationships was one thing that she did exceptionally well,” he said. “She brought together a lot of the entities that were not communicating, and brought back a kind of a team effort again within the community that we were missing. Also, through her coffee shop and things, she was a great proponent for Snyder, period, in all aspects. She has a great, friendly, welcoming personality, and that was something greatly needed in that position.”
Snyder Mayor Tony Wofford said Snyder will miss Proctor.
“I hate to see her go,” he said. “She has a great attitude. She’s a uniter. She has a passion and a love for our community, our city. She has a passion to see it grow and thrive and prosper. She’s a jewel in our community and she does great things as far as uniting us with other communities and different groups. She’s good. I hate to see her have to go, but I’m happy for her, her and her family, and I’m hoping we can get someone of her caliber as the next one.”