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Extension empowers Central Illinois to grow with new community and economic development expert

Richard Proffer

HAVANA, Ill. – From giving small businesses tools to thrive to building up resilient rural towns, the University of Illinois Extension community and economic development team supports municipalities big and small around the state.

Illinois Extension in Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell counties welcomed Richard Proffer as its new community and economic development educator in the summer of 2022. Proffer has a wealth of experience in business retention and expansion work, small business development, economic development, and strategic planning.

“Richard has a long list of community and economic development professional certifications and trainings,” said Extension County Director Earl Allen. “He is positioned to launch strongly with Illinois Extension, and I am excited with what he brings to the team.”

With the continued decline in rural growth across the county, Proffer says it is important to help rural communities reinvent themselves.

“I help communities focus on what sets them apart, be it tourism opportunities, downtown redevelopment, or new local business development,” Proffer said. “It is all about how I can help the community grow.”

Proffer will be working with communities throughout the four-county unit. He will also be offering his expertise across the state through trainings, blog posts, and work with the state Extension community and economic development team.

Before joining Extension, Proffer worked for University of Missouri Extension for more than 16 years. He began his Extension career as a business development director. In his most recent role as a community economic development field specialist, he served 18 counties in southeast Missouri.

Some of his leadership responsibilities included implementing the Exceed program throughout Missouri, developing the award-winning Building Local Prosperity program, and creating Strategic Doing Missouri Style.

Extension’s national professional association Epsilon Sigma Phi awarded Proffer the Missouri Chapter Rookie of the Year award in 2007. In 2010, he was awarded the Missouri Associated Industries Business Development Counselor of the Year.

“I began my career in cable advertising in Peoria,” commented Proffer. “Working in Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell counties feels like I am coming home.”

Proffer has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Business Administration from Davenport University in Grand Rapids, MI. He was raised in Crump, Missouri, on the family farm and currently resides in Pekin.

He is based in the Mason County Extension office in Havana and can be reached at rproffer@illinois.edu or (309) 543-3308.

ABOUT EXTENSION: Illinois Extension leads public outreach for University of Illinois by translating research into action plans that allow Illinois families, businesses, and community leaders to solve problems, make informed decisions, and adapt to changes and opportunities.