In today's news: The search for a new St. Joseph City Manager is nearing its home stretch. St. Joseph City Commissioners have accepted an easement on riverfront
By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostSt. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President Patt Lilly sees a bright future for St. Joseph as he prepares to retire; a bright future as long as the city unites to move forward.Lilly says St. Joseph can be its own worst enemy."I think at times St. Joseph can't get out of its own way as odd as that may be," Lilly tells St. Joseph Post. "I think that we still have a ways to go in terms of our ability to collaborate as a community. I think we have a lot of well-meaning people and a lot of well-meaning leaders in the community, but we still have work to do to make sure we're all moving down the same path."Lilly considers creating Imagine St. Joseph 2040 as one of the highlights during his tenure as Chamber president, saying it has focused the community on its potential over the next 20 years."We have challenges in the community with the school district. I think the people who work for the school district are very dedicated and do
retire at the end of the year.
Lilly served as Chamber president and CEO from 1996 to 2006
before leaving to become Chief Administrative Officer for Triumph Foods from
2006 to 2013. Lilly returned to lead the Chamber in 2013.
Lilly says the timing just felt right.
“For me, I’d gotten to a point in my life where I began to ask
the question a couple of years ago when do I retire, how long do I work?” Lilly
tells St. Joseph Post. “I’m fortunate that I have a job that I enjoy and have
people that I work with that I enjoy, but there are other things that I would