Scott Maynard, CEO of The Partnership, is leaving his position after roughly a year for a job at Florida State University.
The Partnership announced Maynard’s departure in a Thursday morning press release. Maynard is leaving the organization to accept a job at the FSU Career Center.
Maynard was named the Partnership’s CEO on June 29, 2017. Before that, he served as Ward 5’s alderman from 2013-17 and worked for 30 years at the Mississippi State University Career Center.
Maynard, in an issued statement, thanked the Partnership’s board for its support.
“The board has been very supportive in all that we have accomplished this year,” he said. “Starkville is experiencing unprecedented growth and the Partnership is in a perfect position to capitalize on this. The focus on education, entrepreneurship and quality of life is at the center of all Partnership activities. There is a great deal to look forward to in the coming year.”
Partnership Board President Jerry Toney, in the release, wished Maynard well and said a search for a new CEO is underway.
“The Partnership has a strong staff in place and much of the programming has been set for the fall,” he said. “There is an excitement and energy throughout the community that has grown under Maynard’s leadership. We wish him the best in this new endeavor and will begin our search for a new CEO immediately.”
Maynard, in a Thursday morning interview with The Dispatch, said FSU has one of the nation’s premier career centers, and he’s excited to be joining it. He said he’ll be starting in mid-July at his new position as Program Director of Employer Relations.
Now 54, Maynard has lived in Starkville since coming to the city as a third-grader. He said Starkville has seen tremendous growth through the years. In the past, typically, he said, that growth has come in spurts.
But with the recent, steady growth through the past eight years, he said he believes Starkville is poised to make a leap forward in the next eight. That growth, he noted, has helped transform Starkville’s image from that of a sleepy college town to one of a vibrant community.
“With all of the new construction that’s going on, with the advanced manufacturing facility going in north of town, the new housing units being constructed on University Drive — I think all of those things are going to come together to really make this a special place,” Maynard said.
“There are so many positive things happening and I think you’re seeing people investing in the community, from the outside as well as from local developers,” he later added. “I’ve seen Highway 12 go from a 2-lane residential road to what it is now.”
Mayor Lynn Spruill said Maynard has been an integral part of the Partnership’s successes over the past year. She said that, while she’s happy for his new position, he will be missed in Starkville.
“Scott has been an excellent leader for the Partnership over this past year,” she said. “I am delighted for him as he moves to another phase in his life, but I deeply regret that we will be losing his history with Starkville and his passion for the Bulldog family. His leadership has made a significant impact over this past year and he will be missed.”
Maynard said he’s looking forward to being closer to his kids, who are in Florida. Still, he said he plans to visit Starkville
“I still have a place here,” he said. “I’ll get to be one of those people who gets to come back.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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