WILLMAR - Connie Schmoll has joined the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission as the business development specialist.
In this position, Schmoll will focus on EDC work in agriculture and renewable energy development throughout Kandiyohi County. She will also serve on the Business Retention, Expansion and Recruitment Committee and provide outreach to towns and rural communities in Kandiyohi County.
Newly hired by the EDC, Schmoll brings 12 years of experience working in the Willmar area as executive director of Safe Avenues, a nonprofit organization serving survivors of intimate partner violence. Before her position in Willmar, she was director of McLeod Alliance for Victims of Domestic Violence in McLeod County.
Schmoll led Safe Avenues through a capital campaign and building project that resulted in the shelter and administrative offices that serve as the primary location for the organization’s programs.
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This experience provides her with a valuable asset when working with businesses and communities on project development, according to an EDC announcement Monday.
Schmoll grew up on a value-added family farm where in addition to cash crops the family produced an average of 75,000 pullets annually and sold sweet corn roadside. She has been an active participant of family farm operations and seed business with her husband, Tony, in the Olivia area. They are also members of the Norfolk Wind Energy Project in Renville County.
She has been involved in Willmar Noon Kiwanis, the Willmar Rotary Club and the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. Also, she served as a board member for the Willmar Area Community Foundation and has participated on several committees with United Way of West Central Minnesota.
