The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and Hot Springs Metro Partnership are proud to announce that Cole McCaskill has been named Interim President and CEO.

“We are energized about the vision Cole has shared with us and are confident in his leadership of our two organizations,” said Chamber Board Chair Karen Witt and Metro Partnership Board Chair Karol Bailes.

“It is an honor to accept this role,” said McCaskill. “The Chamber and Partnership have a unique position to do great things in our community. These organizations have an incredible legacy of leadership, going back over 130 years, and I want our team to build on that.”

“I’m ready for the Chamber & Partnership to set some lofty goals and start working towards positioning our community for economic success and increasing quality of life for all residents. I see the clear path forward and look forward to sharing more vision over the next few months. We have an incredible team, between the staff and the board of directors, and we will be working together to make positive change in our community.”

McCaskill previously served as Vice President of Economic Development for the Partnership since 2017. In this capacity he oversaw economic development initiatives including business attraction, business retention, industrial and manufacturing development, downtown development, and retail development. Last year, the Partnership was involved in economic development projects that resulted in the announcement of 165 new direct manufacturing jobs and $98 million in capital investment from manufacturers in this community.

“I learned this business from the ground up. I started as an intern in 2013 and have worked just about every job in the building. From that perspective, I see a lot of great things in our future.”