Lon Smith named president of Wichita Independent Business Association

After being hired on for his new role with the Wichita Independent Business Association on Tuesday morning, Lon Smith will waste no time getting started.

“Officially, I start Thursday morning, but I have several meetings on Wednesday,” Smith said. “I’m just incredibly excited to hit the ground running. It’s an exciting time in Wichita.”

Following a meeting of its board of directors Tuesday morning, the association announced that Smith had been named to the position. Ray Frederick had been serving as interim president since the July resignation of Tim Witsman.

Smith, a Wood River, Ill., native and Wichita resident, is currently employed with Integrated Facilities Group as vice president of business development. He previously served as executive director of the Kansas Aviation Museum.

Speaking on his vision for the organization, Smith said Tuesday afternoon that Wichita could look to similar-sized cities in its region as models for potential business and economic growth.

“Looking at some of the growth that’s happened in Omaha and Oklahoma City and Tulsa, there’s no reason why that can’t happen here, too,” Smith said. “We just need to have the political courage and then exercise the intelligence of the people we have here to make even more exciting things happen.”

Smith pointed to a number of recently announced area projects that he said bode well for the city’s future, including those at the Wichita Center for the Arts, growth in the downtown area and initiatives at Wichita State University.

“We need to continue those efforts,” Smith said. “Frankly, we need to bring new businesses to Wichita. In my mind, that means both home-grown and new operations from outside, when we’re able to do that.

“I’m ready to serve our membership and grow independent businesses in this enhanced effort to grow economic development in Wichita. I think that’s very pivotal in our community right now, and I think the board shares that view.”

The association, which has about 350 businesses as members, is an advocate for advancing and growing independent business in the greater Wichita area. Following Witsman’s resignation, Joe Johnson, chairman of the board of directors, told The Eagle that economic development would be “a big focus” in the search for a permanent president.

“Our board was impressed with Lon’s outstanding accomplishments at the Kansas Aviation Museum,” Johnson said in a news release. “He has a wealth of business and nonprofit management experience that will ensure WIBA’s continued growth and success.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Lon Smith named president of Wichita Independent Business Association."