Rector and Clay County were fortunate to have the state's top economic development official as a visitor and guest for two days last week.
Maria Haley, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, was here with a team from her agency to look at local assets with an eye toward helping create jobs and business activity in the future.
State Rep. Mike Patterson arranged the visit of Haley and four other AEDC staffers -- Rick Pilkington, Steve Jones, Denisa Pennington and Don Gibel. The group was joined Friday in Rector with an area AEDC workforce official, Randy Brinkley.
The AEDC team met with local business and civic leaders Friday morning to hear their concerns and to offer advice on what steps can be taken to generate economic activity in the community.
"What I am really hoping for today is a discussion on where you are and where you want to go," Haley told the group. "I brought a team with me to look at your present assets and to take those assets to the next level."
Haley said it is important to retain good levels of communication with the existing industrial and business firms in the local community. "If existing businesses are not happy, they will end up leaving," she said. "And new prospects look at how you treat existing businesses."
Haley congratulated the community on being a part of the Economic Development Coalition of Northeast Arkansas. The coalition was formed following an initial meeting between Rector mayor Ron Kemp, Piggott mayor Gerald Morris and Paragould mayor Mike Gaskill. It now has grown to include five counties -- Clay, Greene, Craighead, Randolph and Lawrence. The coalition currently is working with AEDC to form a strategic plan for economic development throughout the region.
Alan McVey, executive director of the Delta Center for Economic Development at Arkansas State University, was present at the meeting and gave an overview of the history of the coalition and the direction it is heading. He noted that Frankie Gilliam of the Delta Center has provided much assistance to the coalition, including the recent organization of a focus group to determine the perspective of younger residents of the region as they make career and lifestyle decisions.
Haley reinforced the goals and direction of the coalition by noting economic development planning now is regionally-focused and communities will prosper to a greater degree by moving in that direction. She said state and federal officials no longer will be able to focus exclusively on projects in individual communities, but will gravitate to working with regional organizations such as the Northeast Arkansas coalition.
Local businessman Danny Ford, a commissioner with the Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism, told the group his agency has worked closely with Haley and she is an asset to Arkansas. He mentioned the opportunities for tourism-related activities in the region and noted the input of Dr. Ruth Hawkins of Arkansas State University in that regard.
Dr. Hawkins hosted the AEDC group and Clay County officials in a special tour of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum on Thursday and night and helped host a dinner at the site. Haley said it was her first visit to the museum and she was very impressed with the quality of the important statewide and regional attraction.
Ford sees signs that the economy is improving and he thinks people are hungry for some "good news" following some difficult recent times.
He was impressed with the turnout of some 300 people to the recent Rector Area Chamber of Commerce banquet in which Paragould mayor Mike Gaskill was the guest speaker. Ford said state agencies like to see communities which are willing to help themselves, adding that has definitely been the case with Rector in recent years.
Mayor Ron Kemp said the invitation to Gaskill and the entertainment of Paragould resident Craig Morris and his family is another example of the cooperation that currently is taking place between communities. "We are developing a good working relationship with Paragould and Jonesboro and we believe that is essential to reaching our goals here in Rector," the mayor said.
Kemp gave a brief overview of various projects underway in Rector, such as the Northeast Arkansas Innovative Training Center, the Rector Visitor Center, Rector Downtown Central initiative and the Rector Veterans Memorial. He said they show a community that is moving forward and trying to help itself.
Kemp said virtually every major project undertaken in the community in recent years has involved cooperation with state agencies, such as the AEDC. One of those he cited was critical AEDC assistance in the construction of the $2.2 million Wise Co. building, owned by the city.
The mayor said he believes the best opportunities for job growth in Rector in the coming years are agri-related industry and firms that supply component parts for larger industries in cities such as Jonesboro and Paragould. The latter is a position that has been stressed repeatedly by Rep. Patterson as he works to find jobs for Rector and Clay County.
"If we can get just one offshoot here that would be great," Rep. Patterson said, "and Maria has offered to help and I know the Governor wants to help."
Patterson talked about the decline of population in Clay County over the past several decades. "None of this happened overnight," he said, "but that doesn't mean we have to give up."
Mayor Kemp said Rector is indeed a bedroom community in many ways and the goal should be to continue to try to make it an attractive and wholesome place to live. Included in that, he said, should be a more active effort to attract retirees with some kind of tie to the community.
In the discussion period, Barbara Hamilton talked about her involvement with the veterans park and the fact it can grow into a regional attraction. She and Kemp praised the involvement of retired Gen. George Barker, a Rector native, in his efforts to make the park a reality.
Rector Helping Hands board member Nancy Kemp explained to Haley the work of that organization and the impact it has in assisting students in the community. She noted the foresight of native Bill Carter, among others, in making this organization what it is today.
She also told Haley about the annual concert in Rector, the next one being Aug. 5, in which thousands of dollars are raised to assist needy children.
All the Rectorites present told Haley about the annual Labor Day Picnic and its positive impact on the community. She was impressed and expressed the hope to attend the event at some point in the future.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Kemp talked about a trip he and others took to North Carolina two years ago in which the rural development program in that state was studied -- the group toured several successful small town projects.
Also on that trip were McVey, Gilliam and Pennington.
In the discussion that followed, all agreed that Arkansas does indeed provide a lot of the same levels of resources as North Carolina, but there may be some value in a "one-stop" concept that will make it easier to communicate needs and potential areas of assistance.
Haley said the various agencies responsible for rural development projects in Arkansas can work better together in the future -- and she believes it will happen.
Kemp thanked the AEDC representatives for their trip to Rector and said the agency has been extremely helpful over the years in various community projects.
Following their visit to Rector, the group traveled to Corning and Piggott before returning to Little Rock.
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