Employee Spotlight: Economic Development & Communications Specialist
Published on September 30, 2021
Jordan Lea (pronounced LEE) hit the ground running when she joined the city of Belton last fall as its economic development and communications specialist. Just in the first six months she, among other things, took the city’s social profiles to a new level as another source of need-to-know information for residents, launched the All Things Belton quarterly e-newsletter, and helped implement the Chapter 353 Old Town Belton Redevelopment plan introduced this year that gives property owners in the 111-acre district real property tax abatement in exchange for significant improvements to their structures.
“It was amazing to be a part of the Chapter 353 program from the beginning,” said Lea who researched other cities’ programs, helped develop the application process and marketing materials, and is assisting applicants throughout the process. “I enjoy working with homeowners and businesses and am excited to watch the improvements as blight is reduced.”
Lea, a native of Belton and a Belton High School grad, graduated from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, in May 2020, with dual degrees – Bachelor of Science in marketing, Bachelor of Arts in advertising, public relations, and corporate communications – in the middle of the pandemic. When the opportunity to apply for the City’s new economic development and communications specialist role came up, she jumped at it.
“I knew nothing about local government but I am a communications specialist and I wanted a challenge, a job where I can grow and learn and that is exactly what I do,” she said. Lea took the Heartland Economic Development Course this spring where participants receive fundamental training on business retention and expansion, workforce development, real estate, entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, and ethics. She also received a scholarship to attend a conference on Brownfields, land not currently in use that may be contaminated and in need of remediation.
As she continues up the economic development learning curve, Lea brings her passion for communication to her work every day. “I want our residents to be as informed as possible,” she said. “Information is power and we want our residents to understand what is happening in our City. That’s why I hope to see more sign up for our e-newsletter, follow our social profiles, and check out the City’s website. So much of what our residents want to know can be found in each of these.”
That passion to inform may be a family trait as her mother is a high school teacher and her younger sister will be a freshman in college this fall with the aim of becoming a Kindergarten teacher. Initially, Lea thought she would make her career with Target corporate as she worked there all through high school and college and loved it but her enthusiasm for economic development won out.
She appreciates now how much time and effort goes into making things like the phased expansion of Markey Parkway happen. “It surprised me how much goes into things that as a citizen I thought just popped up, like, blink and there’s the Southview Commerce Center,” said Lea of the successful 148-acre flex industrial campus that was years in the making. “It is great to be in a city, and have this job in the city, where so much is happening. Development is exciting and it’s fun to be a part of it.”
In her spare time, Lea is pursuing a master’s in business administration in a self-paced program through WGU. “I love to learn!” She also spends time with family, her lab mutt, Penelope Q, and her sister’s dog, Lee Lee.
She’s an admirer of women who have made a social impact and has aspirations to make a difference as well. Lea’s idol is the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At the interview for her position, Lea said she was excited to walk into a room filled with women in leadership (the city’s city manager, director of economic development and finance director are women). She delighted in writing up a city newsletter story on Belton’s new Broken Hatchet Brewery. It reminded her of portraying Carrie Nation when her grade school class did a Living Wax Museum project. Nation, certainly a strong personality, wielded a hatchet as a member of the pre-Prohibition temperance movement.
“You know what they say,” Lea added. “Well behaved women rarely make history!”