New Economic Development Website

Hickman County Economic & Community Development Assn. is developing a new website. Previously, HCECDA's site was a part of the Hickman County site. In order to have more space and to be more responsive, I am launching a new site, www.hickmantn.org . The old site will remain up for the next several months to give everyone a chance to find us and for me to get the word out. It looks much like the old one now, but bookmark it and watch for the changes!

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TN Dept. of Revenue Holds Bimonthly Biz Tax Workshops

Tennessee Department of Revenue holds free bimonthly business tax workshops, the next one scheduled for September 23 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at their office at 1321 Murfreesboro Road in Nashville.

"This free workshop is designed to assist those encountering business-related taxes for the first time. Tax specialists from various local and state agencies will provide the basic information needed to comply with registration and tax requirements," according to their website. Tennessee tries to keep business taxes low and easy to remain in compliance. Areas of discussion will include business tax, sales and use tax, unemployment tax and tax enforcement procedures.

For more information, click here.

Help with Energy Costs

With energy costs increasing, more energy efficiency projects may be cost effective. HCECDA economic development partners TVA, our two power distributors, USDA Rural Development, area universities, and Tennessee Economic & Community Development offer programs to help identify and to help pay for projects to make your business more energy efficient.

TVA Energy Programs

USDA Rural Development
Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program

University of Memphis Tennessee Energy Institute

U.S. Department of Energy
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Tennessee Technological University
Tennessee 3-Star Industrial Assessment Center

University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service
Center for Industrial Services - Energy Management

Tennessee Dept. of Economic & Community Development
Tennessee Industrial Technology Program

Tennessee Dept. of Economic & Community Development
Energy Division

For example, Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development Energy Division has the Tennessee Small Business Energy Loan Program. This program offers a FREE energy audit to identify and quantify energy savings projects. Replacing inefficient heating, air-conditioning, old refrigeration units, motors, or other processing or manufacturing equipment. Even updating lighting can bring significant savings.

Here is the really cool part, they offer a low-interest loan program - up to $100,000 for a maximum of 7 years at 3% interest to finance these money-saving efficiency upgrades. But the really, really cool part -- businesses in Three-Star communities (yes, Hickman County just re-certified in the Three-Star program) qualify for 0% interest on the loan.

If you are a business or industry located in Hickman County, contact me for more information.
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Leadership Hickman

We are taking applications for the 2009 Leadership Hickman program. Since 1996, a diverse group of people who live or work in Hickman County have assembled into a class and embarked on a nine-month journey of learning about the county, making friends, establishing contacts, and developing leadership skills. Graduates of the program become better business people, better public servants, and better citizens.

The class begins with a retreat followed by a day of activities each month focused on a particular community sector such as economic development, agriculture, government, education, etc.

To learn more about the program, contact me. The retreat is Sept. 9 & 10, so there isn't much time to spare.
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Higher Education Options in the Hickman County Area

It is a little like I am burning the midnight (1:00a.m.) oil doing homework again, but I have just updated the higher education information web page that lists some of the higher education providers, information about entrance testing, and financial aid information. I've worked in either workforce development and/or economic development for over 10 years now and I am amazed just how much more accessable classes are than they were in the past. No, Hickman County doesn't have any ivy-covered university buildings; but with distance learning, undergraduate and graduate degrees available in Dickson and Columbia, and technology centers in Dickson and Hohenwald, there are options available.

Check out the Higher Education Information page at www.highereducation.hickmantn.org. I hope to continue to add more information in the future.
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eCommunity Leadership Team Meeting

The Hickman County eCommunity Leadership Team will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 26th at East Hickman High School. The Connected Hickman County Strategic Technology Plan that we have been working on will be presented and discussed.

This will be a pivotal meeting where we will shift from the planning phase of this initiative to the action phase where we will begin to implement the actions suggested by this leadership team. Anyone interested in better technology availability and utilization is invited to attend (please RSVP), but especially anyone who has participated anytime during the process thus far.

Goals of this Meeting:

• Review "Connected Hickman County Strategic Technology Plan"
• Plan and schedule next steps including work plans for priorities
• Discuss ongoing management of priority projects
• Analyze the latest state and Hickman County broadband usage survey results

The Hickman County eCommunity Leadership Team is supported by Connected Tennessee, "an independent non-profit organization that develops and implements effective strategies for technology deployment, use and literacy in Tennessee. Connected Tennessee works in partnership with telecommunications and information technology providers, public agencies, business leaders, community leaders, researchers and universities in an effort to meet the goals of the Trail to Innovation. Connected Tennessee works to ensure the state remains the setting of choice for families and businesses by leveraging the best in technology for all of Tennessee."
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Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)

At the Hickman County Workforce Employer Outreach Committee today, Roger Littlejohn with Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development explained how employers could take advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit on their federal income tax liability. If an employer hires someone that can be certified (a simple process) as being part of a target group, the tax credit can be claimed. According to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit page on the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development website, during federal FY06, "Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued 26,151 federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) certifications and 14,248 Welfare-to-Work (WtW) Tax Credit certifications representing in excess of $150 million in potential federal income tax savings to Tennessee employers."

The Hickman County Workforce Employer Outreach Committee quarterly luncheon meetings are open to all employers. Previous topics have included worker compensation law, business tax incentives, Illegal Alien Employment Act, Tennessee OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Act), drugfree workplace, and Wage Regulation & Child Labor Laws.

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Workshop for Farmers

A little late notice, but a workshop for socially disadvantaged farmers, will be held tomorrow (August 19th) at Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville. Agriculture, growing and adding value to food and fiber, is still an important industry in Hickman County.

According to The Nashville Business Journal, "(t)he free event will provide an overview of programs that offer economic and conservation-based opportunities to farmers who have faced historically difficult challenges -- women, minorities and limited-resource farmers and ones with disabilities."

If you miss this event, feel free to contact me for information on assistance for agriculture, agri-tourism, and value-added agriculture business in Hickman County.

Who is your city?

I have started reading a book called Who's Your City by Dr. Richard Florida. I am finding it interesting how one could match the personality of a city with their own personality. My take early on: Dr. Florida's argument is that technology and communication may make it possible to live any place, but with some research, we can live in the right place. "Must" reading if one were thinking about making a move. However, economic and community development professionals should ask 'who is their city?' and is the 'who' that is their city, the who they want to attract? It may be difficult or impossible to change who your city is, but it would be helpful to know who it isn't. Anyway, I think that it will be an interesting book and I might even learn something useful.

By the way, Dr. Florida will be the plenary speaker on Tuesday at the IEDC Annual Conference in Atlanta.

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Technorati Profile

Technorati Profile

Resources for Community & Economic Development

Okay, everyone except the most wonkiest economic development professionals can select another site. However, Tennessee Dept. of Economic & Community Development has a detailed, fact-filled, no nonsense spreadsheet that lists and details Resources for Community & Economic Development. Not only does it give an overview of Tennessee programs but also regional and federal programs.

Just the deciphering of the acronyms is worth a look!

Rise of the Chinese Consumer

I found this article in yesterday's The Wall Street Journal, "Thank God for the Chinese Consumer", interesting as well as uplifting to my economic development side. That, plus kinda watching the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics last night with Gayle. She loved it, I was expecting it to be like a long half-time show. However, it was a quite impressive display of art and technology. We can easily see that China is a world-class producer of quality consumer goods.... I think that China is ready to spend some of their money and U.S. production may be the beneficiary of it.

Hickman County Recertified in Governor's 3-Star Program

Hickman County participated in a review of its economic and community development efforts today and was recertified as a Tier II community in the revamped Governor's Three-Star Excellence in Economic and Community Development Program. A formal presentation of the award to community leaders will be made by Governor Bredesen at the 55th Annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development held on September 15 & 16 at Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

HCECDA coordinates this effort, but it takes many members of the community working together to acheive this award. Their efforts not only earns us this award, but also makes Hickman County a great place to live, work, and do business.

Success Story Featured in Wall Street Journal

One of seven economic development success stories featured in The Wall Street Journal online was a story that appeared in print on July 28th, titled Faster and Stronger about ConnectKentucky's success in helping that state's economic development by increasing broadband and technology usage and availability.

ConnectedTennessee is a similar initiative that Hickman County has partnered with. Aware of Kentucky's success with ConnectKentucky, our technology committee was in ConnectedTennessee's office before they could unpack. As a result of our enthusiasm, we became the first eCommunity Leadership Team organized. With the able assistance of ConnectedTennessee, Hickman County is working to improve technology utilization and broadband availability to benefit existing business and to provide the skills and tools new business will need.

Tennessee Tax Burden - One of the Lowest in the Nation

According to The Tax Foundation, Tennessee has one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation.... another incentive to look at Hickman County, Tennessee. For the full story on the economic benefit of locating in Tennessee, check out the full story.

How we got here....

It is Sunday night and am doing what I call my stream-of-conscienceness web surfing. From looking for antique barrister bookcase parts, to reading about what a friend is doing on a mission trip to El Salvador, to shopping for cool cuff links, to reading about the state's political climate, to economic development (and to my point.) Yes, it does come a little too close to actual work, but in this case, it appeals to my academic/research side -- something that unfortunately can get lost in the day-to-day, hard fought quest for job retention and creation in my regular job. However, this blog post and article I came across, The 'Big Push' and Economic Development in the American South is an interesting exploration of how the South became competitive in economic development post-WWII and the important role public investment played. I might add that public investment goes hand in hand with making industrial prospects comfortable.... whether it is with air conditioning, quality education, cultural opportunities, or our natural Southern hospitality.

Industrial Building convenient to Nashville, TN

I attended an open house hosted by NAI Nashville, the real estate broker for the 121,500 sq.ft. YKK Building. This building has been well maintained, has fire sprinklers, and most of the manufacturing area is outfitted with air-conditioning.

Details on the building can be obtained from NAI Nashville, at TVASites, or by contacting me.

Tennessee, a Nice Place to Visit

Today's edition of The New York Times had a great article on the beauty of Dover, Tennessee here in Middle Tennessee. Though Hickman County does not have the big lakes that Dover does, we do have the great views, rivers, streams, and hospitable people. To find out more, check out the Hickman County Tourism website, Music City Backyard.