By Jason Miller
posted 8.26.11

East county business owners, chambers of commerce, and town officials are encouraged to attend a presentation by entrepreneur and rural economic development expert Becky McCray in Concrete Aug. 30.

Hosted by Town of Concrete, McCray will speak in the Commons room at Concrete High School at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $25 for the first attendee and $10 for each additional attendee from the same organization. Interested parties should contact Concrete Town Hall at 360.853.8401 or e-mail Andrea Fichter at [email protected].

McCray started her first business venture in junior high school, and has been going ever since. She is an entrepreneur from Hopeton, Okla. (pop. 30), where she and her husband Joe co-own a retail liquor store and a cattle ranch. She also heads a consulting firm that helps small towns in Oklahoma with project management.

McCray is a recognized expert in rural small business and social media. She has been featured in The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur magazine, and others. Her blog, Small Biz Survival, ranks in the top 20 small business blogs worldwide. She is listed among the 100 Most Powerful Women on Twitter. Along with Sheila Scarborough, she co-founded Tourism Currents to teach tourism professionals about social media marketing. They are considered highly influential in the tourism industry and organize the Tourism track at BlogWorld Expo each year.

Her presentations on small town business and social media have taken her from Dodge City, Kan., to London. From North Dakota to Texas, and Washington State to New York City, she’s spoken at more than 100 events.

McCray’s experience in small town business, community, and government includes work as a small town city administrator, a nonprofit executive with the local workforce development council and the Girl Scouts, an antiques store owner, a business and computer consultant, and a newspaper reporter. For nine years, McCray taught a variety of computer and business classes at local technology centers, making her the fourth generation of her family to teach.

She served on the National Board of Directors and as a national committee chair for the Business and Professional Women USA. She was the youngest state president in the history of the Oklahoma Business and Professional Women, and is a past president of the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Alumni Association. She was named the Outstanding Resource Partner of the Northwest Oklahoma Small Business Administration.

Concrete Mayor Judd Wilson met McCray during the RevitalizeWA conference in Walla Walla in May, where she was the keynote speaker. “She had everyone in the room the moment she opened her mouth,” he said. “All I could think was, we have to have her in Concrete.”

McCray will arrive in town Aug. 29 and spend the morning of Aug. 30 touring the town and meeting with local business owners.

AT A GLANCE: Becky McCray
When:  Aug. 30, 5:30 p.m.
Where:  Concrete High School Commons Rm.
Cost:  $25 first attendee, $10 for each additional attendee from same organization
Info: 360.853.8401 or [email protected]

Becky McCray