Gary Person has 40 years of experience in the economic development field.   He has been the President / CEO of the North Platte Area Chamber and Development Corporation since 2015.   Today’s North Platte economy has $2.3 billion of new or emerging industrial, commercial and housing development projects, setting all-time records in retail sales, lodging revenues and economic activities.  North Platte was named the Nebraska Economic Development Community of the Year in 2023 and 2021

Previously he was the City Manager in Sidney, Nebraska for 16 years and the Economic Development director for 23 years. During his time in Sidney, the economy more than tripled.

He is a life-long Nebraskan, having grown up on a farm-ranch near the Wyoming border.  His past professional experiences include being the editor of three newspapers, managing two Chambers of Commerce’s and three economic development organizations; owning a public relations company and serving as the Director of the Western Office of the Governor for four years under Gov. Kay Orr. 

Gary has served as state president of the Nebraska Economic Developers Association, the Nebraska Junior Chamber of Commerce when it was ranked number one in America, and two years in the immediate past president’s role of the Nebraska City Manager’s Association.  In 1989 he was named the Outstanding Young Nebraskan of the Year. He has served on 30 different local, regional and statewide boards of directors.

He holds degrees in mass communications from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Nebraska Western College.  In 2014 he was asked by U.S. Senator Mike Johanns to testify in Washington D.C. before a congressional subcommittee on rural job creation and regional economic growth strategies.  In 2014 he was honored as the Nebraska Economic Development “Professional of the Year”.

He served on Gov. Pete Ricketts “Blue Print Nebraska” steering committee; the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority Housing Coalition and was honored as NIFA’s 2023 Nebraska Housing Champion.  In 2024 he was appointed as regional co-chair of the “One Nebraska, Mid-Plains Region” development effort spearheaded by Gov. Jim Pillen, the Nebraska State Chamber and Nebraska Department of Economic Development.