Joplin Chamber President Toby Teeter steps down

JOPLIN, Mo. – The Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce (JACC) announced Wednesday morning Toby Teeter is stepping down as president and CEO effective Friday, July 30.Teeter will continue to support and advise the JACC staff through a brief transition period.

Teeter was hired in December of 2018. Upon joining the JACC team, he focused on furthering economic development, attracting and retaining talent for Joplin, building a strong regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, and expanding benefits for Chamber members.

“Serving as the Joplin Chamber’s President has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Now it’s time for me to step down and allow a new Chamber leader to emerge with the skills required to navigate Joplin’s next chapter,” says Teeter.

“Toby has done a tremendous job of leading the Chamber through a time of unprecedented uncertainty and change in addition to his focus on economic development, talent attraction, EDI, and regional branding,” says Jeremy Drinkwitz, Board Chair of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. “We thank him for his leadership and wish him the best of luck in his next chapter.”

Over the course of his tenure, Teeter has spearheaded many projects for the benefit of the Joplin business community and the overall area. These include instituting several talent and business attraction projects, developing new resources for startups and entrepreneurs, strengthening the Joplin brand through ChooseJoplin.com, creating a new online business journal with JoplinBusinessOutlook.com, establishing Ideas on Tap networking events and e-Commerce Meetups, and helping start the Joplin chapter of 1 Million Cups. Under his leadership, the business incubators in the Advanced Training & Technology Center and the Joseph Newman Innovation Center have been brought to full capacity.

“I am grateful for the various positions I have served in, and for the opportunity to make a positive impact in my hometown,” concludes Teeter. “I truly love Joplin.”

Under the leadership of the Board of Directors, the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce will continue to move forward with those initiatives as the search begins for a new Chamber President.