Knoxville gives taste of aggressive job creation

What we heard instead was an amazing story of how technology came to the eastern Tennessee hills, and how as a region they have seized upon that opportunity.

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce annually takes a community leadership trip to another community in hopes of learning from the experiences of other thriving cities.

In the past, we have borrowed ideas that have resulted in our own Community Focus Report, a new midfield Airport terminal and the creation of the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership. The relationships built among the participants during the trip may overshadow even those accomplishments.

For the 14th annual visit, the chamber chose Knoxville, Tenn., primarily for the success it was enjoying in economic development and job creation. Our delegation of 38 people were welcomed warmly by the leadership of the Knoxville area, and both groups noted the similarities of the two regions, right down to the topography and ancestry of the initial settlers.

Differences

We also noted the profound differences. The Knoxville area is home of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has had a tremendous impact on the region and state for the past six decades. ORNL was originally created to help with the Manhattan Project, our country’s foray into nuclear weapons. Under extreme secrecy, more than 75,000 people initially worked on various aspects of the creation of the atomic bomb in the 1940s. Today, ORNL is home to 4,200 associates providing research and development for projects throughout the world, with another 8,000 working for affiliated area companies. After years of both governmental and private management, the lab is now managed by the University of Tennessee and the Battelle Institute. The partnership has brought a new sense of cooperation and shared vision with the surrounding region. ORNL brought in nearly $1.5 billion in research funds last year, and the recently completed $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source attracts researchers from across the globe. In addition, ORNL houses the world’s second-fastest computer, which is used for national interests such as climatology and corporate needs as diverse as Boeing and Dreamworks.

The most compelling story for the Knoxville region is its focus on job creation through its Jobs Now! Initiative. Through a public/private partnership of regional governments and business, the initiative received commitments of $12 million over five years to help attain ambitious goals of creating 35,000 jobs, generating $2.5 billion in nonresidential investment and raising the average annual wage by $5,000 over the half-decade horizon. Those lofty targets are well on their way to being met. During the past three years, the region has created 20,500 new jobs and attracted $1.8 billion in investment.

In addition, we toured nearby Blount County (which one participant deemed “Christian County on steroids”) to learn of their proposed $280 million technology park which combines office, retail and residential spaces into one campus funded by regional governments. With such ambition and commitment, it was easy to see why the county of 108,000 people is the state’s fastest growing.

On the right track

One of the benefits of visiting other successful communities is the confirmation that Springfield is also on the right track. Our downtown redevelopment is mirroring that of Knoxville, if only on a different scale. We are in the initial phases of our own economic development initiative, Partnership for Prosperity II, which has ambitious goals for our own region. We also see the potential impact that Jordan Valley Innovation Center can have on the entire region.

There are other areas where we observed that we are doing better than Knoxville, including our public school system, university and city relations, and the quality of our chamber and its staff.

As with other community leadership visits, this one will provide ideas for our region that will benefit us for years to come. All this, and no “Rocky Top.” It was a great trip indeed.

Brian Fogle is vice president of community development for Great Southern Bank.[[In-content Ad]]