From the Desk of the CEO...

Connecting the Dots

 

Words and clich?s can be very cyclical things, at least with me that seems to be the case. Lately, the word that we are hearing and using ourselves seems to be connectivity.

 

That's probably not the most surprising thing anyone will hear today; after all, we are in a connectivity business. We connect companies to our communities, sites, and resources in our recruitment efforts. We connected companies to other companies (and, again, to resources) in our existing industry services. And we try to connect our counties and region to the world in our marketing efforts, which included the launch of our new website a couple of weeks ago. (If you haven't already, please check it out at networkstn.com.) Still, I've observed that connectivity has been even more prevalent than usual during the first quarter of 2015.

 

When we engaged The Next Move Group to redesign our website (see related story), we wanted to go beyond the typical. We sought to accomplish some basic things, all relating back to connectivity:

• Navigability - the site had to be easy to find the information the user was seeking, "connecting" the user to everything he or she wanted to know, if you will.
• Data-driven - we were determined that this site would be the best tool we could utilize to make our business case for our targeted industry sectors. I think perhaps in this area more than any other, we nailed our goal. Each targeted industry sector page address the unique and particular issues for that industry and quantifies in a meaningful way objective reasons to consider a location here.
• Regional profile - "Regionalism" is a word that is often tossed about in economic development to the point where it can lose its impact, but it has real value on many fronts, among them being the simple, basic fact that although a company must land in a particular community, it benefits from the amenities of the entire region, including education and training facilities and programs, the size and quality of the workforce, and, of course, quality of life factors. Our website takes a broad look at what it means to locate not just to Sullivan or Hawkins counties, but what it means to locate to Northeast Tennessee. We wanted it to connect the user to our entire region.

Websites and marketing efforts aren't really what most of our citizens would consider accomplishments; they are things we do to reach our ultimate goal which is to generate investment and job creation. We had a great day last week with the announcement of Pure Foods Company (see related story). Pure Foods is currently based in Vancouver, but the company which will manufacture healthful snacks in the NETWORKS spec building under construction in Gateway Commerce Park in Kingsport, will also locate its corporate offices to its new home in Northeast Tennessee. The $22 million investment will lead to the creation of 273 jobs that will average more than $30,000 a year (without even factoring in the higher-paying HQ positions). I'd like to thank company leaders John Frostad, Bob Armstrong, Gary Southwood, and Mike Wells for such a wonderful experience in making this happen.

 

There were so many partners that I can't mention them all, but special recognition to Mayor Dennis Phillips and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, City Manager Jeff Fleming and his staff, Miles Burdine and everyone at the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, Chairman Bill Dudney and the KEDB, Isaac Webb and Bob Gilbert of AEP, Matt Garland of TNECD, Jim Street and his team at JA Street & Associates, and of course the NETWORKS staff and Board of Directors for a job well done.

 

Of course, most job growth comes from existing industries and I want to publicly thank Bell Helicopter for helping us connect to our existing major employers at the standing-room-only FIRST meeting held several weeks ago.  FIRST is the umbrella program under which all of our combined existing industry services reside (see related story). The name is an acronym for the values on which the program is built - Focus, Innovative, Results, Synergy, and Together - and emphasizes the priority we put on our existing industries. NETWORKS teamed with Mark Canty of the Tri-Cities Airport on a Foreign Trade Zone presentation. We even brought in an FTZ expert and connected our companies to the state's export specialists. And, as with all of these meetings, we provided a vehicle for these outstanding corporate citizens to meet and form relationships and a support system with each other.

 

As we do every chance we get, we spent time earlier this year connecting with our partners in Nashville, at the Tennessee Economic Development Council (TEDC) Day on the Hill. We met and thanked our elected officials and spent a great deal of time with key staff members of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD). We also networked with these partners and many others as we learned a great deal of a variety of issues at the TVA Economic Development Forum. And I got to spend some time discussing our product and strategies with AEP's team a couple of months ago as well.

 

We will get another opportunity to familiarize key partners in April when we visit the Nashville offices of TVA and give an hour-long presentation to its target market specialists and project managers. We'll also schedule appoints with some of the TNECD staff we didn't get to spend a great deal of time with on our previous trip. And next week, I will be working with Aeronautics/Aviation specialists Alex Bertelli (TNECD) and Adam Murray (TVA) along with Patrick Wilson and Mark Canty from Tri-Cities Airport at the Quad A show in Nashville.

 

One of the highlights of the first quarter was new TNECD Commissioner Randy Boyd's visits to our region. While here, he visited with executives at Eastman Chemical and Heritage Glass, held a "town hall" meeting with regional leaders at Meadowview, had lunch at Pal's (of course) where he visited with business leader Pal Barger, and toured the Tennessee Select certified site, Tri-Cities Aerospace Park at the airport.

 

Commissioner Boyd was especially interested in hearing about last year's Red Carpet Tour we held in concert with the Tennessee Economic Partnership and pledged he would attend this year's event if at all possible which, like last year, will culminate with the Erwin Tools Night Race at Bristol. Other top staff members joined the commissioner on that visit and project manager Allison Sielbeck-Coley, who focuses on data and call centers and headquarters projects, visited our county and others in our region in March.

 

Speaking of TEP, we are upping our connections with that group as I am now proud to be serving on its Board of Directors and its budget committee. We also are in talks with assisting that group and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce with next year's Site Selection Guild Annual Meeting, to be held in Music City in the spring of 2016.

 

Of course, we continued to work on our newly formed partnership with Hawkins County, working with staffer Rebecca Baker on many fronts. Priorities for the Phipps Bend Industrial Park, one of the premier sites in our region, include increasing broadband infrastructure, creating marketing pieces, and creating front-of-mind awareness of the property among our lead generating partners, all while working on a handful of prospects for that site.

 

One item that doesn't need to be lost in this flurry of activity is the announced retirement of Jack Lawson, NETWORKS Director of Economic Development. (We will have information on Jack's replacement in the next newsletter.) Jack has about three decades of economic development excellence and as deep a commitment to his community as anyone I know. Jack is a mainstay in our industry. To say he will be missed is an understatement. Things simply won't be the same without Jack's upbeat personality, subtle practical jokes, and his amazing historical knowledge. We will, however, utilize Jack as a consultant for special projects, if for no other reason, just to give his wife, Judy, an occasional break.