Michael Meek of Meek & Associates, LLC has been retained as Interim President of the Aransas County Partnership Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
EDC Chairman Jatin Bhakta said, “Michael provided our organization some critical direction during the last several months of 2021 in a consulting capacity. He will get us positioned for a permanent, full-time CEO by the end of June.”
Meek is a 1971 graduate of Rockport-Fulton High School where he played basketball and tennis for the Pirates. He originally moved to Rockport in 1964 when his father retired from the US Air Force. His parents resided here until 2002. Following college at Texas A&I University, Meek worked in Texas, Arkansas, Utah, California, and Hawaii with multi-national firms before returning to Rockport in 1982. He was the Chairman of the Board for the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce (1987-88), and worked as the real estate broker for Rockport Country Club from 1982-1988. Meek moved to New Braunfels in September 1988, where he had a 33-year career with the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce and the Greater New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation.
Meek served as State Chairman of the Texas Economic Development Council, State Chairman of the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives, and is a Certified Economic Developer since 2000 via the International Economic Development Council. He currently is a board member of the New Braunfels Community Foundation. He was honored as the New Braunfels Citizen of the Year last year.
Following his retirement from the Chamber, he opened Meek & Associates last summer. Between August and December last year he helped develop the local EDC’s work plan strategy for 2022-25, targeted business sectors, a business retention and expansion survey program, drafted incentive policies, and more.
“Aransas County is growing in population, which is good for the housing sector,” said Meek. “Tourism based on the natural environment is strong, and there is a healthy retirement community, which brings new dollars in.
“What is missing is a strong commercial base, especially primary employers.
“I am blessed to be able to assist my hometown on these sustainability opportunities, especially in light of the challenges brought on by Hurricane Harvey.
“During my career it became clear to me local economies never stay the same. They are either growing or declining. Residents benefit from a growing economy in multiple ways. The EDC is a vehicle to provide that key ingredient for a community’s health and vitality.”
