In February, the Missouri Research Corporation (MRC) began its Operation Jump-Start Community Leadership Initiative in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.  The initiative is a one-year, grant-funded program to help develop some area communities that might not otherwise have the resources available to them to complete some needed economic and social development.  The first town visited by the Operation Jump-Start team was Ste. Genevieve, Mo., and six other cities will follow in the upcoming months.   Ron Armbruster and Dena Kreitler of the Ste. Genevieve Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the selection of the town leaders and gathered them with the MRC team to discuss key economic issues such as education, small businesses, tourism, infrastructure, and local/state/federal government.  

The second phase of this initiative is to return to the community and pose the same questions to its townspeople set for late April 2008. In phase three, the MRC will overlap the economic issues brought to the table by both the community leaders and by the townspeople, and develop and action plan for growth for the city.