Episode #71: Mark Dobson - Eight-Four

Mark Dobson has a wealth of experience in both the public and private sectors. He is an entrepreneur and a community leader. In January of 2019 Mark and Tina [his wife] launched Eighty-Four, LLC. – a real estate investment and development entity headquartered in Indiana. In the short time Eighty-Four, LLC has been in business, acquisitions have included Dollar Generals and Family Dollar Stores in Indiana, Michigan, and North Dakota. In addition to the investments in Single Tenant Net Lease Retail locations, a sale/leaseback of an Indiana based manufacturer was added to the portfolio.

Prior to the launch of Eighty-Four, LLC, Dobson served as President & CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County. During his tenure, Elkhart County saw unprecedented growth in jobs and investment. His efforts to attract new businesses and support those already in Elkhart County resulted in over $750,000,000 in new investment for the County. Because an adequately trained workforce is one of the keys to success of any Economic Development strategy, he collaborated with Horizon Education Alliance and Local Higher Education institutions to ensure Education and Commerce are collaborating to produce the best trained workforce in the region. Additionally, he served the Elevate Indiana Advisory Committee that is developing an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Northern Indiana. In 2018 the EDC collaborated with the Purdue Manufacturing Assistance Program to launch a workforce leadership series targeted to manufacturing supervisors. This was in response to business roundtables where management identified key challenges faced in the Elkhart County manufacturing environment. In addition to the job creation successes, he oversaw an annual budget of public and private funds. During his time leading the EDC of Elkhart County, annual budgets were consistently exceeded by his team’s fund-raising efforts.

Previous to his engagement with the EDC of Elkhart County, Dobson was the President & CEO of the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce. He focused on ensuring the Kosciusko Chamber was the Public Policy leader for the region. He also oversaw the absorption of Warsaw Community Development into the Chamber. And he was the President of the Northern Indiana Coalition of Chambers. Those experiences – and the execution of the Kosciusko Chamber Strategic Plan – earned Dobson the designation of 2014 Chamber Executive of the Year by the Indiana Chamber Executive Association.

Dobson also served the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County where he established a Community Leader Forum and rebuilt the Public Policy Division. Prior to his service to that Chamber, Dobson served as the President of the St. Joseph County Commissioners. His two terms of service to the citizens of St. Joseph County were distinguished by his fiery advocacy for his constituents and a vision of reducing government influence on the people. His concept of Metro-Gov is still discussed when looking at ways to reduce the cost of delivery of government services.

His time in the private sector included a distinguished career in the Oil Industry and Real Estate. Dobson served B&R Oil Co., Inc. as its Vice President of Operations. B&R Oil was once the highest volume gasoline distributor in the nation for Phillips 66. The company also distributed Mobil Oil and Union 76 fuels in Indiana and Michigan. As Dobson turned to Real Estate, he earned International Diamond Elite status with Coldwell Banker for sales and marketing excellence.

Dobson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Butler University with concentrations in Marketing and Management. He completed his Institute of Organizational Management training from the US Chamber in 2012. He earned the designation of Accredited Executive from the Indiana Chamber Executive Association in 2014. A believer in life-long learning, he also has been designated as a Master Petroleum Marketer by the Phillips 66 Marketing & Management Institute.

Dobson is an avid golfer and winter sport enthusiast. However, he is most proud of his family. He has been married to Tina for over 38 years. His son, Mitchell, is a Captain in the Air Force. And his daughter, Shelby, is a School Counselor in Whitko Community Schools.