The Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development, while it can’t say much due to confidentiality, says they are certainly busy these days.
Partnership president Ken Springer tells Galesburg’s Morning News on WGIL there’s been a lot of interest in Galesburg as of late, so he decided he needed to add to the staff to get it all taken care of.
“In the last couple months, we were very fortunate to be able to bring John Schlaf on to KCAP’s team,” said Springer. “John had got done with his interim stint as City Manager; and we, of course, were able to work with him a lot during that timeframe. He’s helping to advise entrepreneurs, which is a huge area of growth for the organization in the last few years.”
Schlaf is also a former Galesburg Police Chief and former Director of Campus Safety at Knox College.
You wouldn’t think a man whose extensive experience in law enforcement would be a good fit for a local economic development entity, but Springer says Schlaf was perfect for the role.
“John has amazing communications skills. He’s very, very patient with folks,” said Springer. “He can sit across the table, and, really – with just a few…simple questions, kind of just gently coax the background and these complicated business ideas out of people, and really understand motivations.
And Springer says that leads to helping entrepreneurs move forward with their ideas.
He says Schlaf’s family also has business expertise, which is also helpful.