McQuillan Selected as Newest PCDC Board Member

Chris McQuillan, vice president at First State Bank of Loomis, has been appointed as the newest member of the Phelps County Development Corporation board of directors replacing Michele High, who has retired after serving for 15 years.

“I am thankful for the opportunity to work with some of the best leaders in Phelps County on the PCDC board,” McQuillan said. “This board, and economic development in general, is extremely important because if you aren’t going forward, you’re going backward, in my opinion. I think there is a great opportunity to make Phelps County, south-central Nebraska and Nebraska as a whole a very desirable place to live and raise a family.”

McQuillan said there has been a shift in younger generations moving to urban areas, and he'd like to help change that trajectory.

“I’m hopeful that people currently residing in urban areas will realize that with high-speed internet and other advances in technology, they can return to rural places such as Phelps County and have the ability to work remotely and enjoy a slower lifestyle with more opportunity for their children,” he said.

McQuillan and his wife, Heather (who is a Holdrege native), moved to Holdrege in June 2012 after living in Lincoln for college and work for 11 years. McQuillan, who is originally from Greeley, earned a degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“We enjoy having a lot of Heather’s family close, and I would say the county’s greatest assets are the people,” McQuillan said. “We’ve been blessed with many friendships that wouldn’t have presented themselves in a larger community, and we’re very thankful to be in Phelps County!”

McQuillan said one of the county’s biggest economic development challenges is recruiting and maintaining a quality workforce for all of the jobs that are available locally.

“Additionally, quality housing availability for relocating workers and their families is very important so they can live where they work to reinvest in the local economy,” he said.

The McQuillans recently joined forces with friends and business partners Joe and Christine Ridder to form CJHC Properties LLC, a company that buys and rehabs homes to sell or rent. A few of their home projects have been completed with the help of the PCDC GO! Home program grants.

McQuillan’s involvement in local real estate as well as his experiences in banking and on other community boards will make him an asset to the PCDC board.

In addition to the PCDC board, McQuillan is also currently serving his second term on the YMCA of the Prairie association board, is a member of the Phelps/Gosper Farm Bureau board, co-chairs the fundraising committee for the Allmand Central Plains Ribfest and is active in All Saints Catholic Church and School as a Godteens leader and committee member for the All Saints Classic golf tournament. He was part of LEAD 36, a two-year ag leadership program, and is a current member of the inaugural class of Leadership Holdrege. He also was recently accepted into the Nebraska Banker’s Association Leadership program.

“I feel that community involvement is extremely important because there aren’t a lot of people who want to volunteer to be on boards because it’s a lot of work and time commitment,” McQuillan said. “But, if nobody is willing to serve, then our county will not continue to grow and develop into what it has the potential to be for our kids, friends and neighbors.”