Pictured is Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation CEO Peggy Friday. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Adkins.

By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation CEO Peggy Friday says Kosciusko County is “poised for growth.”

Friday was announced as KEDCO’s new CEO on May 1 and began her work in the county about two weeks ago. She is taking over after Alan Tio, who worked as KEDCO’s CEO for five years, stepped down in December 2023.

A meet-and-greet event for Friday was held at KEDCO’s office in Warsaw on Wednesday, June 26. Prior to that, Friday spoke with local media organizations about her economic development background, as well as her goals for stimulating growth in Kosciusko County.

Friday grew up outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. She graduated from the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago with a major in broadcasting and communications. Friday was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years to her three children. Following this, she worked as the Northern Illinois District Associate Director for former U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald for five years.

Friday moved to Kosciusko County from Rochelle, Ill., a town of about 10,000 people roughly an hour and a half west of Chicago. She spent almost 20 years in Rochelle, working as the city’s industrial development manager and commercial and retail development coordinator. Friday also served as executive director/CEO of the Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.

“I look forward to bringing that knowledge to Kosciusko County and especially the smaller communities,” said Friday.

She described Rochelle’s Chamber of Commerce as “failing” prior to her taking over leadership. Friday said she restructured the chamber by making it a for-profit organization and increasing membership and business participation.

In her two weeks as KEDCO’s CEO, Friday has focused on meeting with local leaders and business owners. She also recently attended the Orthopaedic Manufacturing & Technology Exposition and Conference in Chicago with OrthoWorx CEO Bob Vitoux.

“I think I’m most impressed with the people here,” said Friday about Kosciusko County. “That’s really what drew me here. My plan was to retire and just take it easy, but I knew wherever I landed, I wanted to be involved in the community. One of the things I do enjoy is bringing people together.”

Friday said her top priority is building relationships and trust with business owners.

“My goal is to really start providing (economic development services) to communities,” said Friday. “I’m not here to make all kinds of grand changes, but I want to make our services meaningful. If we make a promise to a community, I want them to know we’re going to fulfill that promise. And if we can’t do what they’re asking, we’ll get creative and figure out how we can do that.”

Friday also wants to focus on working with KEDCO’s employees and board of directors about what direction KEDCO is going to go.

“We need to be wise in how we spend our time and our resources, and be transparent with the people we work with,” said Friday.

With Kosciusko County residents, she said she’s noticed everyone “wants to do the best they can, so this has to be a special place.” Friday said she’s already met with representatives for the Towns of Silver Lake and Syracuse, and plans to make her way to all of Kosciusko County’s communities to determine what their needs are.

“My heart is in rural America, and we want to be invested in those communities,” said Friday.

Friday also emphasized the importance of business retention within economic development. She also has been asking communities she’s visited to provide her with a list of vacant properties to utilize for identifying future business locations.

“Innovation and being progressive is incredibly important,” said Friday. “I really believe the county is poised for some really good growth.”

When she’s not working on economic development matters, Friday enjoys traveling and reading historical novels.