15 S. Garden Street · PO Box 1289 · Marion, NC 28752
Phone [828] 652-9391 · Fax [828] 652-8775
Email: meda@mcdowell.main.nc.us

MEDA Quarterly News                 JAN – MAR 2002 / Vol. 5

McDowell Economic Development Association, Inc.

25 South Garden Street

P.O. Box 1289

Marion, NC 28752

MEDA NEWS & UPDATES

A number of projects including water and sewer projects are currently underway or are in the process of assessment.

a)      The extension of water and sewer two miles south of Marion on Hwy. 221 is complete.  This project has provided service to Haldex and to the Glenwood Elementary School.

b)      The City of Marion has signed contracts with the State Department of Transportation to extend municipal water service along Shady Lane Road to the Rest Area location on Interstate 40. McDowell County is contributing to the project to enable the line size to be enlarged to a 12” line.

c)      The extension of sewer into the Eastfield Community is currently being designed and easements are being obtained.  Over 4 million in grants have been obtained for this project.

d)      Grants have been secured for the extension of sewer into the PG Community.  This extension will provide municipal sewer service to Crane Resistoflex, various businesses and the PG Elementary School.

e)      The Town of Old Fort is in the process of making three million dollars worth of sewer line and facility enhancements to their waste treatment facility.  The Town of Old Fort has also applied for grant funding to extend service south of Old Fort.

f)       A study has been completed and presented that proposes a water treatment facility with Lake James being the source of water.  The study examines the infrastructure necessary in order to sustain such a facility by specifically examining the Nebo Community.

g)      A ground breaking has been held and the process initiated on both a new YMCA and a new Senior Center.  Both projects will be completed by the Spring of 2003.

h)      Collins and Aikman recently donated one acre of property on Hwy. 70 to McDowell County for the construction of a new EMS Base Station.  The Station will greatly benefit the EMS service as well as the community.

i)        An information session on the widening of a portion of Hwy 221 South of Marion will be held by the North Carolina Department of Transportation on March 20, 2002 from 4:00 p.m. thru 7:00 p.m. at McDowell Technical Community College.  Also, the widening of Sugar Hill Road will occur in the 2002-03 fiscal year.

Members of the MEDA Board met in September at their Annual Retreat to review the MEDA Goals/Objectives.  Below are the newly revised Set of Goals and Objectives unanimously approved by the MEDA Board at their regular Board Meeting in November:

RECRUITING NEW INDUSTRY

¨       Location

Ø      Graded site–assess immediately after the KDC site is finalized

Ø      Spec building–assess with partnership of private individual.

Ø      In conjunction with City of Marion, identify additional existing sites and inventory buildings including brownfields.    

Ø      As a strategy, MEDA will seek to attract those companies that add to the diversification of our work force and economy, have labor practices compatible with the existing industrial community and that are environmentally compatible with our natural resources.

¨       Advertising and Marketing

Ø      MEDA will need to maintain a good working relationship with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Advantage West, Industrial Realtors, Utility companies, etc.

Ø      Ask Barry Pace if his high school class will update the MEDA WebPages.

Ø      Review and update the Industry Recruitment packet that goes out prospective clients to include bullets from the Hospital and the Public School system.

Ø      Assess participation in a Sub-Regional (five counties) marketing group effort.

Ø      The Executive Director will participate in a least one trade show annually.

WORKING WITH EXISTING INDUSTRY

¨       The group agreed to support the efforts of the Industry Visitation team (see Attachment A).

¨       In addition, the group agreed to support the development of a Resource Directory for local

industries.  An effort to coordinate this with the State would take place.

¨       MEDA will work with the Industry HR group to develop appropriate activities for Industry Appreciation Week.

¨       Emphasize value of education from Early Childhood through Community College levels.

¨       Continue a process of measuring expansions of existing companies in relationship to taxable investment and employees.

¨       Investigate feasibility of effort to recruit commercial and retail investment through a collaboration of community efforts.  This could include local government financial support.

¨       The entire planning process needs to remain systematic and on going (annual reviews, monthly updates, newsletter updates, etc.).

BOARD AND STAFF RELATIONSHIPS

¨       BOARD

Ø      In July of each year establish the following sub-committees, with members appointed by the President:

·         Membership/Finance Committee:

v      Develop a plan for growth and retention of members and present to the full Board at the September Retreat.

·         Any other committees deemed necessary by the President or the Executive Director.

Ø      President and Executive Director conduct orientation session for new Board Members in July each year.  Said orientation to include the following:

·         Category of Memberships

·         Role of the MEDA Board

·         Emphasize attendance by setting a goal of no more than three (3) meetings missed per year.

Ø      Conduct Annual Retreat in September of each year for the purpose of reviewing, revising as necessary, and prioritizing Goals.

Ø      Have quarterly meetings with the Executive Committee and provide feedback to staff through performance appraisals.

¨       STAFF

Ø      Provide opportunity for professional development for staff members.

Ø      Staff provides a Quarterly Newsletter to all members.

Ø      Executive Director makes recommendations at Annual Retreat on needs for staff, equipment and spaces.

SOME PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE PROMOTION

Raymond Burrows

NC Department of Commerce

The previous article of this MARKETING series in MEDA News focused on McDowell County—the PRODUCT.  However, effective promotion is vital to attract suitable businesses and to keep existing businesses knowledgeable about what the McDowell community is doing to support their success.

As consumers, many of us think of advertising as promotion because we are bombarded with commercial messages on TV, radio, in magazines, newspapers, on billboards, etc.  While it appears most prominent, advertising is just one of the possibly hundreds of methods to persuasively communicate an idea.

Economic development promotion is different because average consumers don’t make multi-million dollar decisions to start, locate or expand a business.  However, these high value decisions and similar “Industry to Industry” promotions for manufacturing equipment and systems rely on the same principles as consumer advertising, but using very different media and considerably greater reliance on relationships between companies, technical professionals and organizations.

Promotion, as a specialized form of communication, relies on these process steps to support a product/service persuasively for consumers as well as businesses. 

1. Create awareness among prospective purchasers.

2. Provide information/knowledge about product/services

3. Create a favorable attitude toward the product/services

4. Encourage consideration of the product/service for purchase

5. Select the particular brand/company

The primary difference between consumer promotion and business promotion occurs in identifying and targeting prospective decision influencers and delivering appropriate messages. This is difficult and challenging work.

In the late 1800’s, as the major department store chains were being developed, one famed Philadelphia merchandiser, John Wannamaker, was reputed to state “I know that half of my advertising is wasted, but the problem is I don’t know which half”.  Major corporations conduct effectiveness research, perhaps 5% to 8% of their promotion budgets to reduce “waste”.  From their research economic development organizations with limited budgets can get more “bang for the buck” and increase their competence by the principles that businesses have identified.

Also, since promoting a community usually involves organizations like MEDA with some public funding, following recognized promotion principles will assure wise promotional spending.

            WIDELY RECOGNIZED PROMOTIONAL PRINCIPLES

·         Market share has close relationship to promotional expenses, i.e.; GE jet engines are number one in sales and promotional expense.

·         The best prospects are present customers, because if they are satisfied they will not only wish to stay and succeed but will tell professional colleagues about the community.

·         Personal relationships and communications are more effective than any amount of media communication.

·          Promotion for a single idea is unlikely to be recognized for two or three years, and then to only a percentage of the audience being sought.

·          Public relations, that is editorial information, is by far more effective than any equivalent purchased media. 

·         Media should match the target audience.  That is, we will reach metalworking executives in technical and professional journals as well as trade magazines.  (In economic development, there are competing publications regarding locating sites and buildings that are primarily read by real estate and consultants.  In 2001, consultants represented about 7% of North Carolina’s projects while personal contact represented 22%).

·         Maintain a consistent “identity” and think very carefully about change.  (Recognize how effective the GE symbol has been over the years).

·         If advertising is decided upon, be sure there is adequate funding because in every industry there is a threshold which promotional investment must exceed before results occur.  In industry, there are many, many small businesses that feel they have to advertise but have limited budgets and for the most part their funds buy them nothing.

·         Identify a clear purpose and message for the target audience, every piece of material and literature.  (There are studies that have shown some TV and media commercials actually leave a negative attitude toward the advertiser).

·         Repetition—frequent repetition—is OK.  A developer and his commission will get tired of the promotion before the audience.

Thoughtful application of these proven principles will help get the best possible results from limited promotional resources.  Also, if the community is so inclined, an allocation of perhaps 5-10% of the budget could measure results as major corporations do and indicate ways to continually improve results.

Internet Task Force

Public Forum Meeting

     A public information session on the importance of the Internet and High Speed Internet Access to McDowell County will be held at the Community College on Tuesday, March 26 in the auditorium beginning at 5:30 p.m. A number of application areas including business, education, agriculture, health care and government will be overviewed. Anyone interested in learning more about the internet, public access locations or the effort currently underway to obtain high speed internet access in this community is encouraged to attend.

ESC Report

Patin Howard

Employment Security Commission

McDowell’s annual Estimated Unemployment (UI) Rate for 2001 was 8%.  This is a significant increase over recent years (2000, 4.6%; 1999, 4.0%; 1998, 3.9%) which reflects the economic condition in the county, state and nation.  McDowell’s 2001 annual Estimated UI Rate is the highest annual rate since 1991’s 8.2% rate.  January 2002 UI rate was 12.3%.  This is McDowell’s highest January UI Rate since 1985’s 15.2% rate.  January’s rate is expected to be higher than most other months due to local cyclical factors.  However, the increase from December’s 8.1% rate to January’s 12.3% was greater than expected.  Lay offs increased significantly in the county’s textile and furniture sector in January contributing to the increase.  While manufacturing sector lay offs accounted for most of the change, lay offs increased in most other sectors also.

Following are Unemployment Insurance payments to McDowell county residence for recent months:  

September                         $   658,667.00

                        October                                  722,802.00

                        November                              714,187.00

                        December                              799.039.00

                        January                               1,231,724.00

                        February                                667,888.00

News from the JobLink

McDowell County JobLink Career Center

    Career Planning, Training & Placement Services

SERVICES

   The  following services are available at the McDowell County JobLink Career Center:

·         Career Counseling

·         Career Exploration/Research

·         Career Testing/Assessment

·         Career/Job Related Taxing & Copying Services

·         Computer Software Tutorials

·         Education & Training Information/Assess

·         English As A Second Language (ESL)

·         GED/Basic Skills

·         Internet Job Search

·         Interview/Job Search Preparation

·         Job Readiness Classes (HRD)

·         Job Referrals

·         Job Listings

·         Labor Market Information

·         Needs & Services Referral

·         Resume Preparation

·         Self-Directed Computer Tutorials

PARTNERS ON SITE

      The following partners have staff at the center on a part-time or full-time basis:

·         Department of Labor Apprenticeship Bureau

·         Employment Security Commission

·         McDowell County Department of Social Services

·         McDowell County Public Schools

·         McDowell Technical Community College

·         Vocational Rehabilitation

·         Welfare-to-Work

·         Workforce Investment Act

LOCATION & HOURS

   The following is the location, phone and fax numbers and hours of operation:

81 South Main Street, Suite 2

Marion, NC 28752

Phone: 828-652-6001

Fax: 828-659-9733

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Mon. - Thurs.

8:00 AM - 4:00 PM Fri.

     For further information about the services available please contact one of our staff members at the center. 

Current MEDA Board Members

            David Wooten, President

            Kathy Rabb, Vice President

            J.B. Bundy, Secretary/Treasurer

            John R. Biddix

            Joe Kaylor

            Sarah Buchanan

            Jim Kilbourne

            Everette Clark

            Ray Linder

            William Dover

            Dr. Virginia Mitchell

            Larry “Butch” Hogan

            Garland Norton

            Adolph “Butch” Justice

            Dennis Whitson

Ex-Officio Members

            Rod Birdsong

            Bob Boyette

            Rep. Mitch Gillespie

            Paul Hughes

            Dean Kanipe

MEDA Office Staff

            Charles R. Abernathy,

                        Executive Director

            Harriet C. Smith

                        Office Manager