Retirement celebration for Alliance CEO/President Charlie Sparks

Join us as we celebrate Alliance CEO and President Charlie Sparks as he enters retirement. 

At 3 p.m., join us in the auditorium at Inventrek Tech Park for a presentation. A reception will follow until 5 p.m. in The Shared Drive.

After 42 years of bringing economic development to his hometown of Kokomo and across the state of Indiana, Charlie is retiring as president and CEO of the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance.

Sparks took the reins of the Alliance in 2014 and continued a record of success in community and economic development that he solidified while serving as vice president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
He has worked closely with Kokomo and Howard County officials to secure new development in the community, including the $2.5 billion development recently announced by Stellantis and Samsung SDI. Sparks is running strong into retirement, leading the development of an industrial park in Howard County and working to secure a hotel and conference center in downtown Kokomo.

In 2018, his longstanding success around the state earned him a spot on an Indiana Economic Development Association list of eight people who have had the greatest impact on economic development in Indiana in the past 50 years.