Meggie Froman-Knight named new executive director of CIEDA

January 22, 2021

Story originally published by CIEDA

The Claremore Industrial and Economic Development Authority (CIEDA) Board of Trustees named Meggie Froman-Knight as the organization’s new executive director at its regular monthly board meeting on January 20, 2021.

“We are thrilled to formally name Meggie Froman-Knight the next executive director for CIEDA,” said Ryan Neely, CIEDA Board Chairman. “For the last several months, Meggie has worked tirelessly to support the board and staff amid a season of transition within the organization, while simultaneously working to keep Claremore moving forward to meet the changing needs of our community in the face of the pandemic. Meggie brings years of experience to the position both professionally and personally, and as a native Rogers County resident, has a true heart of service for Claremore.”

Before her appointment, Froman-Knight served as the organization’s associate director and talent development manager. A sixth-generation resident of Claremore, Meggie has served as the catalyst behind the development and implementation of Rogers County’s international award-winning workforce program portfolio. Notable community programs, such as the Partners in Education initiative, CIEDA’s Learn and Earn student placement effort, and the Boost Reverse Job Fair, have benefitted from her expertise. Additionally, she closely collaborated and partnered with CIEDA staff to support the organization’s business retention, expansion, and attraction efforts.

“Workforce serves as a key factor for companies in the areas of retention and expansion,” said Froman-Knight. “My previous role provided me the unique opportunity to serve in various parts of the economic development process and build relationships with our community’s leading employers. While maintaining CIEDA’s strong manufacturing focus, I look to strategically position our organization to serve in multiple facets of economic development, such as retail attraction, small business, and housing development, to ensure we are maintaining Rogers County’s positive forward momentum.”

Froman-Knight’s goals for 2021 include:

·      Support Claremore’s existing manufacturers who have been challenged by economic impacts within the energy and aerospace sectors.

·      Strategically aligning CIEDA to best serve and aid with the city’s districting process as part of the Uniform Development Initiative.

·      Maintaining the positive retail growth momentum of 2021 by showcasing Claremore as a prime hub for retail development from both a local and national perspective.

·      Continuing to develop and refine CIEDA’s small business initiative, Connect Claremore, to serve the more than 80 percent of Rogers County businesses with fewer than ten employees.

·      Innovating CIEDA’s workforce development platform to best reach students and the underemployed virtually due to COVID-19.

     Collaborate with partner organizations to ensure a robust workforce pipeline and availability of resources to aid our healthcare sector in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.



“I am humbled and honored for the opportunity to serve and impact my hometown and continue our trajectory of strong economic development growth alongside city and county leadership and the CIEDA board,” said Froman-Knight. “I am confident that our team at CIEDA, in collaboration with our many organizational partners across Rogers County, will continue to preserve and enhance Claremore’s competitiveness and sustainability through economic development.”