Gilligan prepares to assume Cape Girardeau Chamber leadership

Robert "Rob" Gilligan, who will become the new president and CEO of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce on April 11, is the current director of Ignite Emporia, an economic development initiative targeted at Lyon County, Kansas.

Ignite Emporia is self-described as "an aggressive, five-year strategic initiative, launched in 2019, designed to create jobs, retain and expand current business and industries, ensure the readiness of our workforce and grow workforce housing."

Gilligan is a current city commissioner in Emporia, a city in east-central Kansas, between Topeka and Wichita, with an estimated 2022 population of 24,343 -- or 43% smaller than the City of Cape Girardeau's current population of 42,917.

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