Left to Right: Emily Diebolt, Tayton Majors, Suzette Torres

Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc (BC REDI) staff is growing. The organization has added three new positions in the last few weeks. New employees include the following.

• Emily Diebolt – Grants Manager, has a 20-year background in not-for-profit administration. She researches funding opportunities and writes grants to improve existing local assets and finds funding for new opportunities in Bourbon County on behalf of BC REDI.
• Suzette Torres – Projects and Marketing Assistant, worked in hotel administration in Hawaii, before joining the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce as Communications & Events Coordinator (exchanging her “alohas” for “howdies”). She also has municipal administrative assistance experience with the City of Fort Scott. Suzette will be working on economic development and tourism marketing as well as administrative support.
• Tayton Majors – Special Projects and Marketing Intern, is assisting REDI in building a new website and social media platforms to better communicate the organization’s mission to the public and with potential community investors.

Also on the Bourbon County Regional Economic Development staff is Mark McCoy, Small Business Development Director, who has a lifetime of business building experience and organizational management. Mark will work with new prospective businesses to discover potential opportunities and incentives for local entrepreneurs.

Jackson Tough, who works for the City of Fort Scott as Public Relations and Tourism Director also shares the office space to work closely with the economic development staff. Tough has been in business and organizational management for over 30 years and brings a vast knowledge of marketing as well.

Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc Director Robert Harrington said, “Because of growth and the need to expand our efforts in so many areas we welcome these new members to our team. Emily Diebolt is focused on finding more funding for Bourbon County through federal, state, and local grants. Tayton Majors will be with BC REDI through the summer then he will attend Lead for America in Washington, DC before returning to Kansas to work in Economic and Tourism Development. We recently brought Suzette Torres aboard to assist Jackson, Mark, and me in our marketing efforts as well as special projects. We look forward to the contributions these team members will make in our mission to increase economic development and tourism in Bourbon County.”

Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to attracting and creating investment, wealth, and economic opportunity in Bourbon County, Kansas.