With nearly 30 years of experience in economic development and banking, Frank McCrady has spent 14 of those years as EMCID’s President and CEO, elevating East Montgomery County through strategic planning to a community ready for growth. Under his leadership, development has soared and sales tax revenue for the 158-square mile improvement district has increased by more than 200 percent, from $2.5 million in 2002 to $7.7 million in 2015. Current retail and entertainment projects underway stand to further financial success for the District and the community in the form of job creation, additional business recruiting tools, expanded services, community grants and scholarships for local youth.
McCrady was elected in November 2015 to serve as the Western Region Director of the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC), the oldest and largest regional economic development association in North America. The SEDC is comprised of 17 states in the southern United States and the District of Columbia. As Western Region Director, McCrady will lend a strong voice for economic leadership to Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. This is the second time McCrady has been elected to the position; he served a one-year term in 2008.
Prior to taking over the leadership position at EMCID, McCrady served as the Deputy Director of Community and Economic Development for Salt Lake City, the Executive Director of the Tulsa Economic Development Corporation and as Operations Manager of Riggs National Bank in Washington, D.C. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve and retired as a lieutenant colonel after 28 years.
McCrady graduated from the University of Arkansas with a BS in Finance and Banking. He received his MBA from Webster University in St. Louis, MO. McCrady also attended the United States Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, KS and took the Advanced Operations and Warfighter course, completed studies at the United States Army War College in Pennsylvania, and he took on additional coursework at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.