Rex Richards, president of the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, is the new chairman of the Regional Development Co. board of directors.
Richards was among the new officers elected during the organization’s recent annual meeting at White Hawk Country Club in Crown Point. The Regional Development Co. administers the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 504 Loan Program in Indiana and the greater Chicago metropolitan area.
“It has been my privilege to see firsthand the benefits of the lending process at the Regional Development Co.,” Richards said, regarding his involvement with the RDC board. “They have helped many, many businesses over the past 25 years finance expansions and new construction of buildings.”
The Valparaiso-based Regional Development Co. also has a location in Homewood, Ill.
Other board officers include: Michael Schneider, First Financial Bank, vice chair; Scott Casbon, First Merchants Bank, secretary; John Matthiesen, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, treasurer; and Hubert Cook, Greater LaPorte Economic Development Corp., past chair.
The membership of the Regional Development Co. also elected Steve Kring, regional president of Horizon Bank, and Greg Bracco, senior vice president, business banking manager of Peoples Bank to the board.
