Directory

Maria Kuhns

Maria Kuhns is the Executive Director of Hannibal Regional Economic Development Council and the Hannibal Regional Port Authority. HREDC is a nonprofit, public/private partnership that works to promote growth and new investment in Hannibal, Palmyra, Marion County, and Ralls County in an effort to increase the quality of life. The Hannibal Regional Port Authority exists to grow the economy of Marion and Ralls Counties through promoting transportation, logistics and revitalization. As the Executive Director of HREDC, Maria offers leadership and guidance to a regional economic growth strategy, creating partnerships and synergies across the region to strengthen infrastructure, workforce, and business retention and expansion as well as promote the region to prospective businesses. Formerly, Maria was the Director of the Small Business Development Center at HREDC, where she was awarded the Rookie of the Year in 2021 and led the creation of the Ignite entrepreneurial ecosystem program. She holds an M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics and a B.S. in Agribusiness Management from the University of Missouri. Maria grew up on a family farm in Effingham County, Illinois.

Chris Miller

Chris Miller is the Business Counselor at the Missouri Small Business Development Center at Hannibal Regional Economic Development Council. The Missouri SBDC at HREDC offers one-on-one counseling by appointment and training events on various business topics at no cost thanks to a partnership with the Missouri Small Business Development Center, funded by the Small Business Administration. He is passionate about helping businesses develop and grow.

During the last 10 years, he has managed and operated his own small businesses. He has previous experience as a district sales manager in the seed industry and served as an adjunct ag sales and marketing instructor for John Wood Community College. Chris has several years’ experience as a secondary agribusiness management and marketing instructor. Chris has also worked on an project with Microsoft and spoken at their annual company-wide Hackathon.

Chris graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a bachelor’s degree in Ag Education and a minor in Agribusiness Economics. He also graduated from John Wood Community College with an A.A.S. degree in Ag Business Management. Chris has also completed graduate work at the University of Illinois and has completed the Purdue University Center for Food and Agribusiness’s Field Marketing Institute. He has most recently completed numerous training courses in using AI in business marketing.