Ovation Awards: Excellence in Governmental Leadership

Tuesday, Jul 6, 2010

Honoring elected/appointed officials and their respective offices/entities for their overall commitment and service to promoting a strong business and economic environment in the Upper Cumberland region.

Donna Arrington, Four Lake Authority

Macon, Smith and Trousdale counties

Attracting industry to rural areas can be a challenge, but Donna Arrington and the Four Lake Authority have done their best to do so, even in the midst of an unsavory economic climate. Among the Authority’s most significant accomplishments is the PowerCom Industrial Center, which is home to 40 buildings, including 10 business incubators totaling 92,000 square feet of working space.

The down economy has had a measurable impact on the industrial park, but, in part because of Arrington’s efforts, the incubators have maintained nine incubator businesses that employ 25 people. One measure of the incubator’s success is its repeat clients.

According to Arrington, one business began in the incubator and soon grew to employ 30 people. After outgrowing the facility at Four Lake, the business relocated to an outside facility. But when it was ready to expand with a new production line, the company looked to Four Lake Authority’s incubator system to house the expansion.

Arrington recognizes the need for assistance and accommodation that businesses have in the Authority’s five-county service area.

“Each of the five counties has its own industrial park with the best they can pull together to have some kind of economic team, but they’ve always got Four Lake,” she said. “They’ve always got this property sitting there that’s much less than 30 miles from home.”

Because of the general shortage of new clients, largely due to budget cuts affecting certain industries and the overall economic downturn, Four Lake has made good use of its time by improving existing buildings. To date, eight refurbishing projects have been completed. Arrington believes that such improvements will go far in attracting new industries – and ultimately new jobs – to the area.

In addition to owning and operating the PowerCom Industrial Center, Four Lake Authority is the affiliate office for Volunteer State Community College’s Small Business Development Center. The Authority also produces an annual report of all the available industrial buildings for each of its five counties in an effort to accommodate incoming industries, as well as supplying data sheets for area chambers.

Four Lake does its best to keep government and industrial entities networked and tries to assist incoming industries as much as possible.

Arrington’s duties include the crucial task of handling all the requests for information from inquiring manufacturers and businesses. Along with office manager Teresa Carman, she also completes day-to-day operations of the Four Lake office. Michael Nesbitt, Smith County mayor and Four Lake board member, believes that Arrington’s efforts have helped the five-county region reach its goals for promoting industrial growth.

“Donna Arrington has been a great asset to the Four Lake Authority office,” he said. “She has always been very friendly to people and is always able to get paperwork together that needs to get done. She’s had to do a lot of management since we’ve been without a director.”

The Four Lake Regional Industrial Development Authority serves Macon, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale and Wilson counties. The PowerCom Industrial Center is located in Trousdale County.

 

Kim Blaylock

Putnam County

Recently re-elected to a second term as Putnam County Executive, Kim Blaylock looks to continue her legacy of conservative budgeting and effective communication with other local leaders. When first elected, she implemented a purchase order system and restructured the county salary system to help build the county’s fund balance, a move that ultimately saved the county what Blaylock called “a truckload of money.” Beyond displaying financial expertise, Blaylock has also built partnerships between the county commission and Cookeville City Council, a relationship that helped lay the groundwork for the planned Highlands Regional Business Park.

“So far, even through this bad economy, we’ve still been able to keep our county moving forward with the business park and things like that,” she said. “And that’s my main focus, to just keep us moving forward as much as possible with the money we do have.”

 

J.H. Graham

Cumberland County

In large part because of the efforts made by City Mayor J.H. Graham, Crossville is poised to see substantial economic growth in the coming years. One of Graham’s biggest recent accomplishments has been his instrumental role in securing funding for the Crossville-based Cumberland Business Incubator. Through Graham’s efforts, $250,000 was secured for the project, slated to break ground later this summer. The incubator also received matching funds arranged by County Mayor Brock Hill.

In addition to facilitating the creation of the incubator, Graham has heavily emphasized Crossville’s preparation for growth. He has done this by giving public works a high priority, a move that bodes well both for attracting new industry and for sustaining an anticipated population growth of 60 percent over the next 20-25 years.

 

Highlands Phase I

Overton, Putnam and White counties

A collaborative program that included public and private sector entities from Overton, Putnam and White counties, Phase I of the Highlands Initiative improved the area’s economic development and potential for attracting new business and industry. Among the area’s improvements over the first four years of the initiative are: a net increase of 739 jobs; the formation of a work force and education development team; a visitor’s center; a Highlands of Tennessee branding campaign; and the planned development of three industrial parks.

 

TSSAA Recruitment Committee

Putnam County

As a result of securing Cookeville as the location for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Blue Cross Bowl, the TSSAA Recruitment Committee successfully provided an enormous boost to the local economy. The championship football games increased sales and tax revenue collections in many industries across the county, including restaurants, hotels and retailers. The committee’s action already brought more than 20,000 visitors to Tucker Stadium and, by securing the 2010 event as well, hopes to bring more than $1 million in annual revenue to the area economy over two years.