Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Oxford.
Kathy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I believe I found my way in public service kicking and screaming. I knew it was a calling but I was going to do it my way. I come by that honestly having been the child of two career government parents, one of which, my mom, was a marine corps Sergeant. I didn’t want to be a teacher, didn’t want to be a police or firefighter, frankly government work wasn’t in my career path at all.
So, I chose journalism and public relations, neither of which were government jobs, so I was on my way to an exciting career making lots of money and writing about all of it. Writing for a local newspaper can do two things to you. It can make you hate politics and the boredom of garden clubs, school projects, and church activities. Or, it can open your eyes to the chronic unmet needs of small towns, watch the passion of local leadership turn changes into positive growth and see how a group of people with not a lot of money, can balloon into real change for the better.
There it was, that was it, I didn’t want to watch it happen, I wanted to be a part of it.
The name of that career is not one you usually get a college degree in but mine fit, so I grabbed that ring and ran with it all the way around the world and back. Economic Development, the definition primarily being the process of creating wealth in a community usually by creating and maintaining jobs through any number of avenues.
I began my public service career in 1993 as the Executive director of the Barnesville-Lamar County Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Development Authority. My job was to help grow our town of 5,000 people/12,000 in Lamar County.
Like most Chamber of Commerce Executives, we manage membership, festivals and new business locations. Sometimes, we even have to manage closures of companies affecting a good chunk of your workforce. You wear many hats in economic development and I am pretty sure I have a great collection of hats and t-shirts for that matter.
My career in Barnesville led me to try my hand at being an effective leader in my region so my office became my car for about 7 years, helping other chamber and economic development execs be better leaders in their own communities, compliments of my second government supported position, this time, the Georgia Department of Economic Development. MARKETING! Yes! That was it!! I am now marketing the state I love so much and getting paid to do it!!
Then I realized economic development wasn’t limited to my region and state. There were companies in Georgia who were selling their products around the world! How in the world does a small company in Barnesville, Georgia find a market for their products or service outside the US?
For 11 years, I took handfuls of Georgia companies in the aviation, automotive, medical, agriculture sectors to trade shows and trade missions to nearly every continent in the world, all in the name of economic development.
International Trade grows better-paying jobs with higher skill sets to faster-growing companies than most jobs, so I was thrilled to be a part of it. I was proud to help dozens of companies sell millions of dollars in goods and services to nearly all the world’s continents– China, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, Dubai, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, so many locations.
During that time, although I still lived in Barnesville, I lost touch with it. I only saw it in the dark, when I left in the morning and when I got home.
So, when the opportunity to get back to my old job which is now split in two, I took it.
I have the same office as I did 18 years ago, in the same building I built 25 years ago, and even work for some of the same people I did 25 years ago. Sound like nothing has changed?
NO! So much has changed! We have a vibrant community with newly updated festivals (someone else handles now thankfully), and a claim to film fame with the filming of HBO’s series “Sharp Objects” which has already been nominated for awards and has a huge following.
My days and commute are much shorter and the pace has slowed to a steady run. We still chase after new jobs but they tend to look a little different this time around.
My engagement with the community and its volunteer organizations fill my heart with opportunity. We have a foundation called Lamar Gives 365 where each member gives $365 a year and gives grants to approximately a dozen organizations each year. It’s a small investment with a huge return and I’m proud to be a part of it.
I support our local animal rescue, Dolly Goodpuppy Society, who somehow manages to spay/neuter over 300 animals each year in an effort to control the pet population in a difficult rural area like ours–all with donations and volunteers. I manage a yearly 5k called the Holiday Hustle where people come dressed up in their favorite holiday lights and actually run with these things on. Funniest thing you’ll ever see.
I found my way back home to Barnesville in the nick of time too because my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and it would have been very hard for me to be traveling while he’s dealing with surgery and treatments. He’s doing great by the way but it’s a journey for anyone and their family.
So, what do you do when you feel helpless and can’t take away the cancer yourself, in that situation? You do what I did I guess and ask your local governments to do a resolution recognizing prostate cancer awareness month in September, of course. You get the word out that early detection is important. Since then, I’ve had so many friends tell me they got checked because of what we have been through. That’s all we can ask for.
Being home at the holidays is now even more special, not because I get a respite from all the traveling I used to do. It is an opportunity to enjoy my community and watch it with more than just holiday excitement, because there’s always the anticipation of something new and fresh energy, helping to make it happen.
I like to think I had a little hand in that even if it was linked to a dozen other hands around the world.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Anytime you make a career change, there is a fear factor, fear of failure or at a minimum disappointment. Mine was changing from a leadership role in the community and my region to what had to be the least prepared international trade manager on a team of trade managers. I didn’t even speak another language other than southern redneck. I did, however, know how to communicate and how to find answers to questions. I knew I didn’t have to know all the answers, I just needed to know where to find them. And, I knew how to help companies recognize opportunities and work them into new sales. I brought my years of being in and out of manufacturing operations to the table where others had not. I knew the challenges of running a business on a small and large scale. I just needed to convert that into finding new markets and that just happened to be marketed outside the US.
As much as I loved my role in international trade and the companies I helped promote, after 11 years, I was drawn back home. I didn’t know then how much I needed to be home until my husband’s diagnosis. He’s working through the prostate cancer journey and we’re very hopeful a ZERO PSA score is in our future for a long long time. Neither of us likes the idea of growing old but growing old together is definitely the plan. We’ve been married for 19 years and that plan hasn’t changed though the journey has taken a few turns, we will remain steadfast together.
Please tell us about Barnesville-Lamar County Industrial Development Authority.
I think what may set me apart from other economic developers is that I have seen what kind of growth a small company can have if they think big. I have visited businesses around the world, I have had the opportunity to understand the nature of doing business in other countries. Some of which are very difficult and some are very much like our own. I can help guide a company who wants to grow, into a regional, national or international market. I don’t think many economic developers have that experience and it’s a tool in my toolbox, I really enjoy pulling out.
I watched a small chemical company in Albany,GA grow from three employees to over 40 in my tenure. What a happy day to see them announce expansions over and over again. I’ve watched a company in Barnesville announce an expansion that was won over a Chinese vendor that could have had quite a negative effect on our community had our workforce not been the world-class caliber that it is.
Who gets to see that happen?
I guess I’m known for what I know and how to encourage others to lead. I am not the kind of leader that leads just to lead. I think I am the leader that wants to teach others to lead.
That’s what a good public servant does, you do what you do to make it better than the way you found it, no matter what that looks like. My office looked pretty good when I got back, so I must have done a little something right. All it needed was a coat of paint and a fresh new perspective.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have paid more attention in French class, no, I probably would have taken German or Spanish.
I believe all my jobs lead to the next one in the order they needed to but had I realized there was a world out there sooner? I would have taken international business classes in school and tried to go that route sooner. There is one continent I didn’t get to and maybe I will someday. Pretty sure, however, I would have to take Mike and the dog with me because I think I might not come back from Australia.
Contact Info:
- Address: 100 Commerce Place, P.O. Box 498, Barnesville, GA 30204
- Website: www.choosebarnesvillega.com
- Phone: 770-872-3773
- Email: kathy.oxford@cityofbarnesville.com
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
