Perryville among finalists to host entrepreneur conference; online poll to determine winner

Perryville is one of three Missouri cities vying to become the host of the 2025 Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference next September. Residents can vote for it to receive the honor online.Southeast Missourian file

The City of Perryville is among three Missouri communities in contention to host the 2025 Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) Conference, and residents will have the opportunity to determine whether it is selected.

The conference brings business owners, municipal leaders and economic development groups together to generate ideas on supporting rural entrepreneurs.

“We bring them together so they can share best practices, swap stories, swap battle scars: what works and, in some cases more importantly, what doesn’t work,” said Annette Kendall, an assistant extension professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. “… They can go to their rural towns and say, you know what, you can start and maintain a business in a small town,” she said.

The four previous Missouri CEC Conferences, including the 2024 event, have been held in Hannibal, Hermann, Benton County and, this year, Fulton.

For next year’s conference, Kendall and her fellow organizers are letting people choose among three finalists: Perryville and the northwest Missouri communities of Maryville and Excelsior Springs.

Those interested can cast their vote for the community of their choice at the CEC website, www.extension.missouri.edu/programs/connecting-entrepreneurial-communities. Voting ends Monday, Sept. 16.

People can vote only once. The community that receives the most votes in proportion to its latest recorded census count will be announced Thursday, Sept. 19, at this year’s CEC Conference in Fulton. That way, a city does not have to receive the highest number of votes to win, just the largest percentage of its population in votes.

Perryville has a population of about 8,500, while both Maryville and Excelsior Springs are home to some 10,500 people.

Eight cities had submitted applications to be the 2025 CEC Conference host, but two later dropped out and three didn’t have the proper amenities. Groups from the University of Missouri extensions visited each of the remaining localities and, because they saw value in each one, turned to the public to decide on a winner.

The Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference involves both keynote speakers and breakout groups where attendees can learn more about how innovation has helped rural communities.Courtesy of Annette Kendall

Conference specifics

The CEC Conference is one of several organized by university extension teams across the Midwest. Similar conferences have been held in, or are being planned for, rural communities in Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska and Wisconsin. People from across the Midwest attend each one to foster ideas on improving rural areas through entrepreneurial activity.

“The format of the conference is the same. If you go to a conference in Michigan or Nebraska or Kansas, which is about to start one, you’ll also go to the local retailers and have your sessions in there,” Kendall said.

Kendall said other university extension leaders looking for ideas to add to their own CEC events have frequented the Missouri conferences.

“We are getting quite a reputation in the Midwest of being the leaders in terms of changing the game,” she said. “… I have a background in theater production, so we have been very intentional about how we can put little elements in there that are novel.”

Kendall is a state specialist for rural innovation and economic development strategy. She researches and creates programs for enhancing economic prosperity in rural regions across the state.

Each CEC Conference so far has taken place in late September, and next year’s event should prove no exception. The 2025 conference will be limited to 150 people to make networking more accessible. Tickets will cost $150 per person.

Attendees will participate in a Tuesday networking event, Wednesday downtown tours and breakout groups and luncheon events on Wednesday and Thursday.

The conference features a pair of keynote speakers and several other speakers in breakout sessions. A third of the presenters at these breakout sessions will come from the host community, a third will be from the university extension office and a third will be entrepreneurial practitioners.

“Within walking distance of each other in the main part of town, we will have our breakout sessions in cafes, antique stores, boutiques, salons, you name it. Our attendees are not only coming to the conference to learn but they’re experiencing one of our rural towns in Missouri and seeing exactly what makes this town special,” Kendall said.

Certain infrastructure is necessary to host the conference, specifically a larger downtown venue to hold all attendees during keynote presentations and many small businesses within walking distance of that venue. The conferences are centered on a single location unless otherwise planned.

“Our teammates would have to go over to the next town over to stay in their accommodations, and that’s not really the spirit of our conference. We really want the people staying and eating in that small town and not going to the next large town to spend their money,” Kendall said. “… Our attendees, they say that this is one of the most approachable conferences they go to.”

Previous editions of the Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference have taken place in Hannibal, Hermann, Benton County and, this year, Fulton. Perryville, Maryville and Excelsior Springs are the nominees for next year's conference.Courtesy of Annette Kendall

Impact in Perryville

Crystal Jones, the executive director of Perry County Economic Development Authority, said she first became aware of the CEC application online. She spoke with Perryville city administrator Brent Buerck and Perry County tourism director Trish Erzfeld who both felt it would be an economic boon for the region.

“We know here in Perryville we have a whole host of local entrepreneurs who have built and shaped our community, so we really thought that bringing the conference here to Perryville would provide attendees with something unique that they may not be able to see in any other community across Missouri,” Jones said.

The application primarily consisted of ensuring the city had a sizable downtown venue and easily accessible businesses to hold breakout sessions in. Jones said these sessions would be held in downtown locations such as Petunia & Lilly’s Flower Shop, the Brass + Bone cocktail lounge and the Catalyst Center for Business.

To promote the vote, she launched a social media campaign, shared information with local media and talked about it with outside economic development partners. She said she knew Buerck had similarly discussed the vote with other city administrators he’s in touch with.

“A lot of it has been a social media push but then also reaching out directly to the groups we work with on a regular basis, asking them to vote and also share,” Jones said.

She said it would be good exposure for Southeast Missouri as a whole if Perryville is selected and people from other parts of the state get to visit it.

Kendall said the host community is responsible for planning venues and activities, while the University of Missouri extension organizes speakers. That way each conference can be unique. The communities often need to fundraise to pay for venue space and catering, but all the money raised goes back to the community, not to the extension.

“We want to use as many local businesses as we can to put on this conference ... and you can’t expect a small caterer to foot the bill for feeding 100, 150 people for lunch,” she said.

Hailing from a rural town in New Zealand, Kendall said she wants attendees to come away from each conference as excited about the potential of rural communities as she is.

“Rural America is fascinating to me and I just love going to these towns. When I go there, everything is cool. I just love it,” she said.

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