The Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference.
Chris Holman speaks with Zach Morris, Executive Director, Market VanBuren, from Media Row, at the Grand Hotel, while at the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference.
Watch Zach and Chris discuss his organization, recent activity and what they are experiencing in 2024, along with what he expected out of the #MPC24, - click play on the YouTube video below.
As a subsidiary of Kinexus Group, a non-profit serving individuals, businesses, and communities around the state of Michigan, Market One has principal responsibilities for economic and community development throughout Cass and Van Buren counties. We connect people, investments, and organizations with strategies and services that improve the quality of life and economic conditions in our region, specifically in our two-county service area. Our team focuses on developing strategies that will allow our communities to thrive by addressing needs related to workforce, community, and business development by working collaboratively with regional organizations to maximize economic growth.
Our History
Kinexus Group formally began a partnership with Van Buren County to assume the economic development activities throughout Van Buren County in 2016 and formally launched Market Van Buren in 2019 to continue advancing the development of the county. In 2021, Market Van Buren began supporting Cass County with economic development efforts and by 2023, we launched a more formal partnership.
To celebrate the organization’s five-year anniversary and the expansion into Cass county, Market Van Buren was rebranded to Market One, symbolizing the counties joint effort in advancing the region through economic and community development.
Executive Director - Zach Morris
Zachary Morris, EDFP (left), is the Executive Director for Market One. In his role, Mr. Morris, leads attraction, expansion and retention of Cass and Van Buren County businesses and supports the planned growth of local communities. He was born and raised in Southwest Michigan and graduated from Decatur Jr. Sr. High School. Prior to his role in Van Buren County, Zachary worked for Southwest Michigan based Kinexus as a Business Services Manager, where he worked with businesses of every size and sector throughout Southwest Michigan on workforce and economic development challenges.
Zach holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from Davenport University and is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council. He is also a Certified Business Solutions Professional through Michigan State University. He is an active member of his community serving on the Van Buren County Brownfield Authority Board and Economic Development Corporation Board, the Community Corrections Advisory Board, is Vice-President of the Paw Paw Public Schools Board of Education and is the Chairman of the Antwerp Township Planning Commission.