Rutherford Forms Alliance for Job Creation
Published Apr 07, 2003
Destination Rutherford, led by Chamber of Commerce President Steve Benefield, has already made substantial strides toward creating high-quality new jobs in Rutherford County.
When communications giant Verizon Wireless announced in April 2003 the establishment of a new call center in Murfreesboro, the decision represented more than an economic development “high five” for state and local officials. It illustrated the power of community partnerships.
“While the executives and the consulting companies involved with Verizon knew about Destination Rutherford, they actually knew more about it than we initially thought. The day that we announced this project with Gov. Bredesen, Shawn Stacy, the executive with Verizon who will be running this facility, made the point that Verizon wants to be in a progressive community, and the Destination Rutherford program was an example, in their opinion, of what progressive communities do,” says Steve Benefield, president of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.
Destination Rutherford is a countywide, public-private partnership launched in 2003 with one overarching goal: to create good jobs in Rutherford County. Spearheaded by the Chamber, the four-year initiative is designed to accelerate business and industry recruitment, promote a new conference center and business park, capitalize on tourism, develop a proactive public affairs strategy, enhance community image, encourage local leadership development, and capitalize on Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. A new full-time Chamber professional will be charged solely with retaining and expanding existing business. The price tag for this comprehensive plan was set at $2.8 million, to be raised from public and private sources. County government and all four municipalities in the county – Murfreesboro, Smyrna, LaVergne and Eagleville – collectively pledged $1.2 million; private sector donations totaled $1.8 million, $200,000 above the goal.
While Destination Rutherford was in the fund-raising stage when Verizon chose Murfreesboro, Benefield points to Verizon as the initiative’s first success story, bringing to the community the kind of white-collar, high-skill jobs that Destination Rutherford targets. Verizon is set to begin operations in October 2003 with more than 400 people and projects employment to reach 1,250 by the end of 2004.
Sheryl Sellaway, a Verizon Wireless spokeswoman, says, “In our opinion, one of the key selling points was working with Rutherford County officials, state officials and the governor. The experience was outstanding. If that’s any indication of the support we’ll get as a business and a member of the community, we will indeed be successful in Murfreesboro.”
Destination Rutherford was born after a 2001 study by MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center cautioned that per capita income in the county would slip without the addition of white-collar jobs.
“Without question, the case for Destination Rutherford was soundly made, and the private sector and our governments responded,” Benefield says.
Now, officials have turned to MTSU again for help identifying companies that would flourish in the Rutherford County environment.
“Not only are we identifying those SIC [standard industrial classification] codes, but MTSU is going to take us further, to the point of identifying exact company names, companies that are in growth mode,” Benefield explains.
“We want to stay top of mind with these companies,” adds Mark Herbison, the Chamber’s economic development director. “That’s where I think other communities have failed. We’re going to market to a core group of companies with the kinds of jobs we want and offer them the incentives. We’ll only incentivize those companies we really want.”
It’s a bold strategy, and one business and government leaders believe will pay big dividends in terms of well-paying jobs. Thus their support for Destination Rutherford.
“I think that people are sitting back now, scratching their heads and wondering how in the world we got four mayors and the county executive together to do something of this nature,” says Benefield with a smile. The key, he notes, is open communication designed to ensure that all players are made to feel part of the process.
Benefield has another observation for communities looking to emulate Destination Rutherford’s partnership strategy: “You have to know your strengths and your weaknesses. We certainly knew our strengths within the community, but by putting our weaknesses in black and white, it precipitated all of our public leadership at the local level. Our city mayors and county executive got together and really worked hard and were honest with themselves on what some of those weaknesses were. That’s what the economic assessment did for us. It caused everyone to come together.”
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Photo by Harrison McClary
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