Obion County Tennessee Case Study

Based on forward thinking leaders, reorganization of the Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Development Corporation, and hiring Jim Cooper grew a new focused entity filled with vision. In 2004 the Joint Economic Development Council (JEDC) was formed, and a capital campaign evolved to fund Obion County’s future.

The STEP-UP! Obion County Campaign generated the operating budget for the JEDC. Phase I included the feasibility study and determined a multi-million dollar campaign was feasible. Phase II secured the funding for the 5-year program. Built from data collection from eight community focus groups and 55 one-on-one meetings with community and business leaders, a practical work plan was generated. The results warranted a $2 million capital campaign stretching over five years. The money strategy accumulated 20% from the public sector and 80% from the private sector. The capital campaign successfully raised $2 million of new money for a new five-year economic development program, while leaving the current Chamber and Industrial Commissions budgets intact. The JEDC has assumed the responsibility of leadership for ObionCounty’s economic future, with goals of creating 2,500 new jobs and branding Union City/ Obion County nationally as a sustainable hub for new economy businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers. This campaign is historic in that a community of 32,000 people contained 31 businesses and organizations investing $5,000 per year or more, which is comparable to tier one and tier two markets; what’s more, many of these investors initially invested $150-$250 per year before the capital campaign. This is an example of how a community changes based on the vision of several strong leaders. Visit the Obion County JEDC Website for more details: http://www.obioncounty.org/.