THE START

The PCGA was organized on July 30, 2008. It is the outgrowth of a volunteer economic development committee that was developed by Pulaski County leadership to work with the Meramec Regional Planning  Commission (MRPC) on a Department of Defense grant for an economic diversification study. The study recommended opportunities to expand the job base and increase private investment in Pulaski County, which included:

• Establishing a formal economic development group
• Hiring a professional economic developer

Over 40 percent of the Pulaski County labor market is employed by Fort Leonard Wood’s Maneuver Support Center. Fort Leonard Wood is the U.S Army’s Center of Excellence for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN), Engineer, and Military Police military skills. The Fort has:

• More than 7,500 military permanently assigned
• Close to 6,400 civilians working on the installation
• Three schools on post that train between 13,000-17,000 soldiers, and over 150 seabees, daily
• Has the largest detachments of Marines and Airmen not on a Marine or Air Base

With its approximately $450 million annual operating budget, Fort Wood is currently the economic engine of Pulaski County and a major component of the State of Missouri’s economy. Over the past several years, the Department of Defense has invested close to a half billion dollars of new construction, renovations and repairs into the Fort. It is an enduring, vibrant military community, that is becoming a station of choice for soldiers and their families. Essentially, it’s the largest city on I-44 between St. Louis and Springfield.