If you live in Berks County, chances are Thomas McKeon’s work has impacted you or somebody you know.
In a public service career spanning nearly 50 years, McKeon was involved in the development of Santander Arena, Cabela’s, highway improvements at the Exeter Commons shopping center, and industrial parks along Interstate 78 and Route 183.
All told, McKeon is said to have played a role in more than 250 projects that led to the creation and retention of more than 17,000 jobs in Berks.
Now, after 15 years as executive director for the Berks County Industrial Development Authority (Berks IDA), McKeon is set to retire at the conclusion of 2020.
BerksIDA will still be in good hands though, insists McKeon, with the current deputy director, Jeremy Zaborowski, set to take over.
“He’s a very bright, younger person who will bring a fresh set of eyes and add to the leadership of the community,” said McKeon, who also spent an additional 15 years as director of community and economic development for the County of Berks.
McKeon is also handing the ball to his successor with momentum, having seen the IDA’s financial assets grow from $3.4 million in 1990 to $17 million by the end of 2019.
What those figures equate to is jobs. “The reason you get into this,” said McKeon.
A life-changing experience
For McKeon, the conversation inevitably turns away from his achievements and back to people, whether it be people he helped, or people he met in the course of his work.
After all, people are what led him to leave his job as a cancer researcher in the 1970s — a noble endeavor, to be sure, but one with limited social interaction — to attend Rutgers University in New Jersey for his masters in city and regional planning.
But before he would be granted admission, McKeon was asked to volunteer with AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service organization dedicated to lifting people out of poverty.
“It’s a big jump for you to go from chemistry to city planning,” said McKeon. “So the dean of the planning school said, ‘Why don’t you prove yourself? If you become a VISTA volunteer and do your year, come back to me and I’ll let you in.'”
Volunteering may have made a more of an impact on McKeon’s career than the degree he later received, as he wound up spending closer to two years in the program and remains involved with the organization today.
“I train VISTA volunteers now,” said McKeon. “I get emotional thinking about them. They’re so concerned about their country and communities and it’s just an incredible experience because you get to put yourself in the shoes of minority populations an learn what it’s like to be a low-income person.
“That experience can’t be replaced. It carries you rest of career. I recommend it to every young person who is thinking about what it is what they want to do with their lives, to do that year of service.”
Not without some controversies
When McKeon looks at the potential challenges facing the IDA after his exit, it’s also one of people. Not only must the county do its part to help train and develop its workforce. Oftentimes, it must convince residents it’s the right thing to do.
He looks at the recent rise of new warehouses in Berks, for example — a controversial issue in some communities, but one the IDA has been a driving force behind, and not just because it looks good on a balance sheet.
“We kinda lit the match on the development of those, but it’s creating a great deal of jobs,” said McKeon. “Chances for people who otherwise might not have had a chance for a good job.”
McKeon reflects on one of his favorite projects in his tenure, the luring of Cabela’s to Tilden Township. But he also recalls many area residents were opposed to at the time, despite what is now the very visible and clear impact it’s had on the local economy.
“At the time, we were losing the outlet industry and feeling like we needed something to replace that, and that intersection was challenged by topography and nothing was happening,” said McKeon. “The big thing there was a Cracker Barrel.
“It was an important project for the development of that intersection. It spurred all sorts of development.”
Development that not only created jobs, but arguably enhanced the lives of those local communities.
The work is never finished
McKeon’s concern for his fellow humans is obvious, so it should come a no surprise he intends to continue trying to be a positive force in retirement.
One organization he intends to spend a lot of time working with is called Next Step Berks, a group focused on developing housing for individuals with disabilities, with a focus on autism. It’s something personal to McKeon — his daughter is an adult living with autism — but also it’s another opportunity to aid an underprivileged group.
“The biggest fear is what is going to happen to my child when I’m gone,” said McKeon. “Where are they going to live? And this organization is working on figuring out the answers to that question, so I’m really hopeful that we’ll make some progress in that area.
“And there’s the Berks County Workforce Development Board on finding employment for individuals with disabilities, so I hope that will continue to go on. When you get to know the disabled adults, they just have great talents that are underutilized or not capitalized on. There is a business sense to it.”
Born and raised in Delaware County — “I’m a Philly guy,” said McKeon — he arrived in Berks County 30 years ago because of a job opening.
Yet, even in retirement, McKeon plans to show his devotion to helping the people of his adopted hometown, just as he did during his career.
“I don’t regret coming here in the least,” said McKeon. “Berks County turned out to be such a wonderful place for my wife and I to raise our kids. We’ve had so many great experiences here and met so many wonderful people.”
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