To say 2018 was a whirlwind year for Jon Levingston would be an understatement.
In his first full year as the executive director of the Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce, Levingston conducted numerous meetings, massaged several egos, mended several fences and even made a trip across the world as part of an effort to bring new jobs to Coahoma County.
And he was a success.
It was Levington’s successful efforts at job recruitment, creating some 250 potential jobs here in Coahoma County during the past 12 months, that solidified his selection as The Clarksdale Press Register’s Newsmaker of the Year for 2018.
People Shores, a tech company based in Silicon Valley, will hold a Job Fair this Thursday as it begins its quest to hire 20 to 25 new employees for its new center in Clarksdale. The company, which made the announcement in December that it was locating here, plans to hire up to 200 people within the next two years.
“We are hoping that it will not stop at 200. That’s our goal,” said Murali Vullaganti, the CEO and founder of the business outsourcing company.
Earlier this year, MAP of Easton Inc. announced plans to add 50 new jobs between March and July, doubling its workforce at its plant on Highway 322 in Clarksdale. The company, which molds fiberglass insulation into acoustical products that control sound and heat, now numbers more than 100 employees.
The expansion was able to happen due to a combined $650,000 generated from a Community Development Block Grant and a CAP loan that MAP of Easton will pay back. The city of Clarksdale also applied for a $250,000 federal grant and MAP of Easton committed to adding additional equipment valued at $500,000.
Levingston, which started work on the project in November 2017, was able to bring together the numerous state and city officials, as well as MAP’s company leadership, to make the expansion a reality.
In addition, there were other new business announcements (such as three new urgent care medical clinics) for Levingston, as well as his role in helping the county wade through a bankruptcy involving the operator of the county hospital, and a revamping of the chamber of commerce business structure and its leadership team.
David Moxam, co-founder of People Shores, said that in he and Vullaganti’s 20-some years of partnering together in various business deals, they have worked with all sorts of state and federal government officials, venture capitalists and other industry recruiters nationally and internationally.
However, he noted, “We don’t meet many Jon Levingstons. Jon is a true professional. We are lucky to have him and you all are as well.”
Moxam said Levingston and his wife, Jennifer, as well as the husband-and-wife team of Dinesh and Parveen Chawla were key to bringing the People Shores team and Clarksdale together.
“We certainly wouldn’t be here without them,” Moxam said during the People Shores announcement in December.
Levingston was hired in October 2017 as the new executive director of the chamber of commerce. He succeeded Ron Hudson, who had served 27 years in the position previously.
Levingston, who grew up in Cleveland and moved to Clarksdale in 1983, is a former president of Levingston Furniture Company and chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
Clarksdale mayor Chuck Espy said “having the right people at the table is so important” when negotiating with prospective industry and he praised Levingston’s skills.
“I asked him before he took the job, ‘Are you willing to fly out at a moment’s notice to make things happen for Coahoma County?’ And he said, ‘I’m going to do it.’ And guess what, he’s done it every single time,” Espy said.
In addition to the trip to visit the Rural Shores operation in India in late November, earlier in the year Levingston made two trips to the West Coast to visit with People Shores representatives to sell them on the idea of coming to Clarksdale.
But the work wasn’t done just away from home. In Coahoma County, he had to bring together the different governmental bodies, state agencies and various business partners to make People Shores a reality here.
Paul Pearson, president of the Coahoma County Board of Supervisors, said Levingston put in a tremendous effort to land People Shores.
“He’s done a wonderful job. He took a casual conversation and turned it all into this, which is absolutely amazing,” Pearson said during the December announcement. “He never quit. He never gave up.”
Pearson said he and Levingston will usually meet several times during the week at Pearson’s Delta Muffler business in downtown Clarksdale.
“He’s worked very hard and he’s working very hard on something else, too,” Pearson said of another prospective business.
That messaged was echoed by Espy.
“All of us are working together to make this happen,” the mayor said of the cooperative effort between the city of Clarksdale and Coahoma County officials.
At the March 28 announcement for the MAP of Easton expansion, Levingston said, “Economic development is a team effort and I am pleased that our city government and county government worked so well together to bring real economic opportunity to Clarksdale and Coahoma County. We can all be proud of that.”
And Espy believes that cooperative spirit, as well as the groundwork done by Levingston, should only create more excitement about the new year.
“As we get ready to move forward into 2019, I want to tell you that we have sown some magnificent seeds out here. There was a lot of seeds sown in 2018 and you’re going to hear… this is one of so many announcements that are coming,” Espy said during the People Shores announcement in December.
“I just believe that this is our season, this is our time and this is our moment.”
And it’s safe to say that Levingston will be a central figure in those moments.
