January 17, 2007

ECD launches Main Street Innovation Grant Program

Grant to fund projects in Tennessee’s Main Street Communities

From the left: Kristi Martin, Columbia Main Street; Clay Patterson, Dandridge Main Street; Corey Smith, Believe in Bristol; Steve Guttery, Main Street Dyersburg; Mary Brooks, Main Street Dayton; Anita Crittenden, Main Street Dayton; Peggy Borden, Johnson City Dev. Authority; Kimberly Nyberg, Tennessee Main Street Program; Lee Ann Wills, Main Street Murfreesboro; Susan Hancock, Fayetteville Main Street Rachel Harwell, Fayetteville Main Street; LeAnn Mottern, Dandridge Main Street; Chris Wilson, Main Street McMinnville (behind); Jayne Shaw, Main Street Lawrenceburg; Judy Titsworth, Cookeville CityScape; Laura Todd, Collierville Main Street; Mary Bearden, Jackson Downtown Development; Glenda Chrisp, Main Street Union City; and Nancy Williams, Downtown Franklin Association.

ECD has launched an Innovation Grant program for ECD's 20 certified Main Street communities to develop new, innovative projects for their communities.

"We are encouraging Main Street communities to develop innovative ideas to improve their historic downtown districts," said ECD Commissioner Kisber. "Community development is the first step toward successful economic development and this grant helps communities improve their quality of life and position themselves for economic growth."

The one-time Main Street Innovation Grant, which was announced at ECD’s quarterly Main Street Managers meeting in Nashville last week, is a new program designed for Tennessee’s 20 certified Main Street communities. The grant supports the development of new and innovative projects, programs, activities and technology that exhibit best practices in downtown revitalization.

Each certified Main Street community is eligible for $10,000 in grant money and 20 percent must be matched from the certified Main Street Program.

"The projects proposed for the grant should follow the Main Street four-point approach to downtown revitalization," said Kimberly Nyberg, Tennessee Main Street program coordinator. "This community-driven comprehensive approach, which includes: design, economic restructuring, promotion and organization, addresses the specific needs in a traditional commercial district. This grant encourages communities to create innovative solutions to downtown revitalization."

Main Street revitalization is a comprehensive, incremental, self-help economic strategy that also focuses on developing public-private partnerships to enhance community livability and job creation, while maintaining the historic character of the district.

Tennessee has 20 certified Main Street communities, which are listed below:



Thomas Nelson Publishing, which is located in Tennessee, is the world’s largest publisher of Bibles in English.

Source: Thomas Nelson Web site

2006 Governor's Conference Videos and Materials Now Available Online

Click Here to download conference materials.

 

 

 
 


ECD Public Schedule

No public events scheduled at this time. Please check the ECD Web site for updates.

For full inquiries or specific dates and meetings, contact Traci Hinkle in the Commissioner’s Office at
(615) 253-1852 or mailto:traci.hinkle@state.tn.us

 

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Community Development

Energy Division

Savannah business enjoys benefits of Small Business Energy Loan program

Design Team Sign Company, a family-owned sign manufacturer located in Savannah, Tenn., recently utilized ECD’s Small Business Energy Loan program to install new energy efficient lighting and five circulating fans in their warehouse.

The energy saving improvements cost Design Team Sign Company $85,610, with an estimated $33,441 in yearly savings. The city of Savannah is a designated Three-Star community, which qualified Design Team Sign Company for zero percent interest on their loan terms.

The Small Business Energy Loan program offers complimentary energy savings assessments and low interest loans to small businesses. Small businesses that are located in Three-Star communities can qualify for a zero percent interest loan. For more information about the Small Business Energy Loan Program, call ECD’s Energy Division toll-free, 1-800-342-1340.

Local Planning

Local Government Planning Advisory Committee to meet Jan. 24

The Local Government Planning Advisory Committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24, in ECD’s 11th floor conference room, located in the William Snodgrass/Tennessee Tower Building, 312 Eighth Avenue North, in Nashville.

For questions about the meeting, please call (615) 741-2211.

Three-Star

Elected Officials Academy partners with Three-Star

The Elected Officials Academy (EOA), a program offered through the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) at the UT Institute for Public Service, is partnering with ECD’s Three-Star program to offer economic development education to municipal elected officials.

The Three-Star program will award 100 visionary points to each community that has 60 percent of their elected officials complete one level of the academy. The program will also award 10 points to elected officials that attend other MTAS seminars that are endorsed by ECD. These seminars are part of the MTAS Municipal Administration Program offered each month at seven locations across the state. Any courses eligible for credit will be designated in the MTAS brochure and Web site.

EOA is a training program created for all elected municipal officials in Tennessee. It gives a basic overview of national and international economic trends that impact communities in Tennessee and explains the role of community leaders in economic development. With sessions covering every department in city government, the EOA gives you the training needed to succeed as a local policy-maker.

The registration fee is $150 per person and includes both Level I and Level II of the academy. The first academy will be Jan. 26-27 in Sweetwater. For more information, visit http://www.mtas.utk.edu or call (865) 974-0411.

Program Management

Program Management participates in Governor’s Alternative Fuels Working Group Meeting

ECD Deputy Commissioner Paula Davis and Program Management Director Philip Trauernicht recently attended the Governor's Interagency Alternative Fuels Working Group meeting. The group is made up of the following state departments:

  • Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
  • Tennessee Department of Agriculture
  • Tennessee Department of Transportation
  • Tennessee Department of General Services
  • Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

The following ECD divisions are involved in the working group: energy, communications and creative services and program management. The goal of the task force is to identify and direct state funding to increase biofuel production and use in Tennessee.

Business Development

Kisber Meets with American-Israeli Chamber of Commerce

AICC Chamber President Tom Glaser and ECD Commissioner Matthew Kisber speak at the inaugural meeting of the American-Israeli Chamber of Commerce in Nashville.

ECD Commissioner Matthew Kisber met this week with business leaders from across Middle Tennessee during the inaugural meeting of the American-Israeli Chamber of Commerce (AICC) in Nashville.

The president of the Chamber's Southeast Region, Tom Glaser, briefed the business leaders on the potential for increased trade between Tennessee and Israel. In 2005, Israeli customers bought more than $40 million in Tennessee goods and services, Glaser said. He believes a number of solid Israeli companies hold promise for Tennessee companies seeking emerging technologies in the automotive, health care and communications industries. He pointed out that although Israel has only 7 million residents, the country has the largest per capita number of engineers in the world.

The AICC has had good success in trade promotion in the southeast by staging what it calls "business exchange" programs between American and Israeli companies. The exchanges allow companies from both countries to tightly organize one-on-one meetings in a 1 or 2-day period to discuss potential joint ventures.

Kisber told the gathering that Governor Bredesen is highly interested in participating in a trade mission to Israel during his second term. Both the ECD and AICC staffs will continue discussions in the coming months to outline potential goals for such a trip.

ECD welcomes new staff additions

ECD's Business Development Division recently welcomed three new staff additions - Michelle Scarbrough, Ian Prunty and Jeremy Stiles.

Michelle Scarbrough

Michelle Scarbrough has joined ECD as a jobs development specialist in the Knoxville office. Her responsibilities include new industry development and corporate expansions, maintaining relationships with local community and business development partners, and keeping accurate inventory of buildings, sites and community data sheets for the region, just to name a few. Prior to joining ECD, Scarbrough worked for seven years with the Knoxville Chamber Partnership.

Jeremy Stiles

Jeremy Stiles is a statistical research specialist for the Research and Planning Division. Jeremy will primarily be responsible for incentive and tax comparisons and building the ECD research incentive database with other research team members. He will be responsible for the knowledge management and maintenance of this information set and ensuring ECD has the most up-to-date information for internal use and prospect requests. Prior to joining ECD, Stiles worked six years at Regions Bank in Goodlettsville. He received his bachelor’s degree in finance and his master’s in business administration from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky.

Ian Prunty

Ian Prunty will work on special projects in the Business Development Division. Prunty previously worked on the Harold Ford, Jr., Campaign for U.S. Senate. While there, he was on the traveling staff and head of youth voter outreach. Prunty graduated from Depauw University in Greencastle, Ind., with a major in political science and a minor in Asian studies.

 

Business Services

SAVE THE DATE

Micro Loan Workshop Sponsored by Cocke County Partnership/Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 10 a.m.

Holiday Inn
1010 Cosby Hwy.
Newport, TN

For more information, call Kandee Veridal at (423) 727-5800 or Ronald Wade at (865) 777-4043


Training sessions offered to small businesses attending Tennessee Business Matchmaking

Small businesses who are registered for Tennessee Business Matchmaking are encouraged to attend a complimentary training session to prepare for the event. The training helps small businesses learn how to register in the Central Contractors Registry (CCR), find NAICS codes and prepare for the one-on-one business appointments with buyers.

To attend a Business Matchmaking training session, call toll-free, 1-800-872-7201. Registration is required. Below are the dates of the training sessions.

Training Sessions:

Jan. 23, 10 a.m. - noon
UT Martin Computer Lab, Selmer
Selmer, TN

Jan. 30, 10 a.m. - noon
Jackson Chamber of Commerce
Jackson, TN

Jan. 30, 10 a.m. -noon
UT Martin, Crisp Hall, ITS Presentation Room
Martin, TN

Feb. 6, 10 a.m. - noon
Renaissance Center
Memphis, TN

BERO will host its next Tennessee Business Matchmaking program from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 20, at the Jackson Civic Centre, 179 Lane Avenue. During the conference, small businesses have fifteen minute, one-on-one business appointments scheduled with the matching buyers.

Co-hosted by the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce and the West Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Jackson Business Matchmaking event will feature new buyers and over $1 billion in procurement opportunities.

The small business registration fee is $35. There is no fee for procurement agents to participate. The registration deadline is Feb. 11. To register, visit the Tennessee Business Matchmaking Web site, or call (615) 741-2626.


 

WBIR-TV Knoxville : “Medical clinic welcomes Knoxville's most frequent visitors”

Knoxville is now home to a new medical clinic designed to help some of the city's most frequent visitors. Professional Drivers Medical Depots, or PDMD for short, had its grand opening Monday near the Watt Road Petro Travel Center. "We're a service that they can just walk over and if they've got issues and need to see a doc, they need to get prescription refills, we can take care of that," said Chief Operating Officer Bill Buzbee.

More than 10,000 truck drivers pass through East Tennessee every day and life on the road usually means it's tough to see a doctor. Logistical concerns like parking a truck in a standard parking lot or simply finding time to make an appointment can cause truckers to skip seeking the medical care they need. "Last year, I had five guys who passed away in their late 50s," said veteran professional driver Charles Gibson. "They will not take care of themselves on the road. This will be wonderful because they can stop and have medicine and have attention when they need it instead of saying 'Well, I'll try to make it on home."

 

Knoxville News Sentinel: “A Knox-D.C.-China flight?”

Beginning March 25, Knoxville could have access to a third nonstop option for flights to China's emerging markets. That's if United Airlines is successful in landing the first nonstop flight to China from Washington, D.C., which would be out of Dulles International Airport. United Express, a regional airline for United Airlines, has nonstop service from Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport to Dulles. With Oak Ridge's federal operations, the University of Tennessee and area businesses with developing commerce in China, Beijing is currently the 16th most popular international destination from Knoxville. Beijing is ranked third among travelers from Knoxville to Asian cities.

Tennessee has strong ties to Asia, with former U.S. Sen. Jim Sasser having served as ambassador to China, and former U.S. Sen. Howard Baker Jr. having served as ambassador to Japan. Also, Gov. Phil Bredesen has long advocated that the state take steps to increase its ties to China. Last fall, Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matthew Kisber was in China seeking to increase economic ties. Bredesen is fond of noting that Tennessee is second in the United States behind California in Japanese investment.

Chattanooga Times Free-Press: “Tennessee gains residents, mover's tally suggests”

Tennessee is among the top states in the Southeast in gaining new residents, according to the nation's largest moving company. "The climate, quality of life and pace of the lifestyle are more appealing than other places'," said Ray Childers, president of the Chattanooga Manufacturers Association. United Van Lines tallied more than 227,000 household moves countrywide in 2006 and compared the number of inbound and outbound trips in each state. The company reports Tennessee was fourth in gaining residents among southeastern states with 55.8 percent of shipments being inbound.

North Carolina was tops in the region with 64 percent of moves inbound followed by South Carolina and Alabama. Florida and Louisiana were the only two Southeast states that had more outbound moves than inbound. Both states have been whipped by hurricanes and experienced sharply higher property insurance premiums in recent years.


Commercial Appeal: “Shift in shipping”

TVA considers trains instead of barges for coal delivery; local rail traffic may rise. In a move that could sharply increase rail traffic into Memphis, TVA soon may begin using trains instead of the Mississippi River barges to ship coal to its Allen Fossil Plant. Tennessee Valley Authority officials are reviewing submittals from firms that responded to a request for proposals to build a major rail-unloading facility at the power-generating plant, which is located along McKellar Lake. The agency, which provides wholesale electricity to a seven-state region that includes Memphis, should decide within six months whether to pursue the rail option.

TVA spokesman John Moulton said. No cost estimate is available yet on the unloading facility. "It's very preliminary -- we've made no decision yet -- but we are evaluating that option based on cost," he said. TVA and industry officials said the interest in rail was spurred by rising barge-transport rates and the drought conditions over the past few years that have produced chronic low-water problems in McKellar, which is Memphis' main harbor along the river.

 



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