Hickman County Bicentennial

Hickman County is celebrating its bicentennial. Founded by the Tennessee General Assembly on December 3, 1807; Hickman County began the celebration with the Centerville and East Hickman Christmas Parades and is having a big celebratory weekend to celebrate the establishment of the county and the birth of our nation. The Grand Ball in the Great Hall will be held at the new, beautiful East Hickman High School.
Tomorrow, July 4th, there will be ice cream, music, and fireworks at the River Park in Centerville beginning about 6:00 p.m.
On Saturday, the day will begin at 10 o'clock on the Grinders Switch Hour live radio show at 404 West Public Square. At 11 o'clock, food, craft demonstrations, civil war reenactors, and other events will continue through the afternoon.
On Sunday evening, there will be a community singing on the east side (near the Minnie Pearl statue) of the public square.

Bon Aqua Woods Scenic Natural Area

Hickman County has an abundance of natural beauty. In order to make one area more accessible, Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation has recently established Bon Aqua Woods Recreational Scenic Natural Area. It is located on Old Highway 46 near where the Bon Aqua Springs Resort was once located. Come down for a drive, take a walk in the old forest at Bon Aqua Woods, and buy some Diamond Gusset jeans at Bon Aqua Clothing Company up on the new Highway 46 just off I-40 exit 172.

Johnny Cash wrote "Saturday Night in Hickman County", his ode to the simple, sweet living here when he lived in the Bon Aqua community.

You might also want to cruise on down a little further into Hickman County and visit Tarkington's General Store to see an old-fashioned country store. On the banks of Hassell's Creek, you can hear pickin' on the porch and have a bologna sandwich and a cold soda (ask for a Co' Cola, if you really want to fit in!)

Building Public/Private Partnerships for Economic Development

I am currently in Charlotte, North Carolina attending a conference conducted by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in association with the International Conference of Shopping Centers (ICSC). It has been a great opportunity to gain knowledge, network with peers, and meet new people interested in developing job-creating, wealth-generating projects.

Working to Bring More Broadband Access

The Hickman County eCommunity Leadership Team has been working with Connected Tennessee to increase technology use and to connect more people and businesses to high-speed internet. Building awareness of the importance of the project and planning strategies for increasing technology access and usage are in full swing. The shift to full-scale implementation should begin this summer.

TNECD Offers Retail Business Seminar

Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development (TNECD) offers a free seminar for small business owners, managers, economic development organizations, Main Street organizations, and Chambers of Commerce.

• Learn marketing strategies and techniques
• Win more customers
• Increase customer traffic and sales
• Make your business worth traveling to see!

This all day seminar (7:30a.m. to 3:30p.m.) will be held in three locations across the state. Nearest to Hickman County is Wednesday, June 11th at Fayetteville or Wednesday, June 18th at Dyersburg.

Space is limited, so reservation should be made as soon as possible by calling 1.800.872.7201.

Available Industrial Building 120,000 sq.ft.

The former YKK facility is 120,000 sq. ft. of well-maintained, masonry wall industrial and/or warehouse/distribution space. NAI Global is listing the property and it is officially on the market and available for sale. YKK Snap Fasteners produced products for the garment industry and has consolidated the Centerville operations into other facilities. This has left a quality, stable workforce with a rural work ethic and a beautiful facility waiting for someone looking for a welcoming community conveniently located near Nashville with easy access to I-40 and I-65. For more information, email vision21@hickmanco.com or call 931.729.5953.

Online Training for Small Business

Starting a new business or looking to grow your existing small business? The U.S. Small Business Administration has free, online business training. The courses are taken at your speed, but usually take an average of 30 minutes. Topics include "Starting Your Small Business", "How to Start a Business on a Shoestring Budget", "How to Find Start-up Funding", and "How to Write a Business Plan".To check out the courses, visit www.sba.gov/services/training/onlinecourses/index.html .

Tennessee earns Site Selection 2007 Competitiveness Award

Tennessee was recently recognized by Site Selection magazine with its 2007 Competitiveness Award, given for superlative job creation and new capital investment.

"I'm especially pleased and gratified by this recognition because it demonstrates Tennessee's commitment to maintaining the best business climate in the U.S. and our focus on developing partnerships between the state and local communities in the area of job creation," stated Matt Kisber, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

For more information, check out State Lauded for Job Creation, New Capital Investment - Nashville Business Journal .

Chamber of Commerce for East Hickman

There is a growing interest in establishing a chapter of the Chamber of Commerce for the East Hickman area. The next meeting will be held at the Beacon Light Tearoom on Highway 100 on Tuesday, May 6th at 6:00p.m. Bon Aqua and Lyles is a growth area for business and industry and a chamber of commerce group could be a tremendous asset in promoting commerce in East Hickman. For more information, check out www.hickmanco.org or drop me an email.

Board Member to Attend Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course

Just another example of the commitment Hickman County has to improving economic development, Rob Mitchell will be attending the Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course May 12-16 in Nashville. Rob will be representing Hickman County Economic & Community Development Association (HCECDA), the Joint Economic & Community Development Board for Hickman County. In addition to serving on the HCECDA board, Mr. Mitchell is the current president of the Hickman County Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Hickman County Planning Commission.

The Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course is accredited by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service is partnering with the Tennessee Leadership Center to present the second annual course. It is designed for community leaders and stakeholders who are involved in economic development at local, state and federal levels. Topics for the course include global trends, and the fundamental concepts, tools and practices needed to be successful in today's complex economic environment.

I have attended this and several other IEDC accredited courses and they are tremendously relevant to improving how we serve our community and promote a fertile environment for economic development.

Tennessee Featured in Fortune 500 Special Issue

In this year's Fortune 500 special issue of Fortune magazine in which the best of the best in business are featured, Tennessee highlights reasons it is a great place to locate a business. Yes, the more populous, lower unemployment regions featured like Nashville and Memphis are great places, but there is more in Tennessee. Hickman County is less than an hour from Nashville and about two hours from Memphis on Interstate 40.

Check out Tennessee in the Fortune 500 special issue. If you like what you see, give us a call in Hickman County. You don't have to be a Fortune 500 company or even employ 50 people to be warmly welcomed in our business community.

For more information, drop us an email at vision21@hickmanco.com .

Value-added Agriculture Products, then Biomass & Forestry Products in Tennessee

Value-added Agriculture Products Business Workshop
May 7th 9:30-12:00 Tennessee Career Center
130 Progress Center Plaza Centerville
(email vision21@hickmanco.com to register)
How to start and how to grow a business that adds value to agriculture products. Canning fruit preserves, processing timber products, making wine, creating decorative items from flowers, curing hams.... anything that adds value to something agricultural, food or fiber.

Representatives from the following are scheduled to provide information:

• Center for Profitable Agriculture
• UT Extension
• Tennessee Department of Agriculture
• Tennessee Farm Bureau
• USDA Rural Development
• Tennessee Economic & Community Development BERO
• South Central Tennessee Development District
• Hickman County Economic & Community Development Association

Biomass & Forestry Products in Tennessee
May 15th 6:00p.m. MLEC Conference Room Centerville

What Bio-fuels could mean to Hickman County. Dr. Adam Taylor Universtity of Tennessee Forest Products Extension Specialist will be the main speaker. Call 729.2404 to register.

East Hickman Chamber of Commerce

With the East Hickman (Lyles, Bon Aqua, Wrigley) area's fast commercial growth, an interest in a chamber of commerce group focused on that area has initiated meetings to explore the possibility of organizing. An active chamber of commerce chapter could focus on improving the business environment in that area of Hickman County. The next meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday April 22nd at Kay's Restaurant on Highway 46.

Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course

The Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course will be held on May 12-16 in Nashville. This is accredited by IEDC and substitutes for the IEDC Introduction to Economic Development for those looking for a professional development opportunity. For more information, go to http://tnecd.gov/whatsnew.htm#tbedc .

Value-added Agriculture Entrepreneur Workshop

We are planning a free informational workshop for those with a value-added agriculture product business and for those thinking about starting one. Value-added agriculture products are any agricultural products that are processed somehow and sold. Some of the topics covered are financing options, available assistance, and legal requirements. It will be held May 7th at our office from 9:30 to about 11:30 with lunch to follow. Organized by UT Extension, Center for Profitable Agriculture, HCECDA, the workshop is available to anyone in the Middle Tennessee area. Please let us know if you plan to attend.