Press release from the Southwest Tennessee Development District:
Leaders from across West Tennessee visit Michigan to thank Ford Motor Company
Local elected officials and state business leaders recently traveled to Detroit/Dearborn for the first West Tennessee Ford Fly-in. Southwest Tennessee Development District Executive Director Joe Barker credits Ford Motor Company's leadership in making the decision to build a new EV manufacturing plant in West Tennessee and the more than 6,000 high-quality jobs the project will create for residents. The fly-in was planned as an opportunity to say thank you for the jobs. region. BlueOval Community Relations Manager Marianne Dunavan worked closely with Michigan State and his SWTDD officials to coordinate meetings and tours at Ford's Dearborn campus. The primary focus of this visit was to bring together local elected officials and Ford management for in-depth discussions.
Fly-in participants spent two full days (January 31st to February 1st) in Michigan. During their stay, participants toured the Ford truck factory at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. His F-150 lighting trucks are manufactured here. We explored the Ford Museum. I also attended numerous meetings with senior management regarding the BlueOval City project. Ford management emphasized the importance of the surrounding community in the project's success and how the West Tennessee community is prepared to attract additional industrial suppliers to the Blue Oval's Tier 1 manufacturing plant at the Haywood County campus. He talked in detail about what he could do. Leaders emphasized that the roots of Ford's Blue Oval project extend far beyond the facility currently under construction and will bring growth to all of West Tennessee.
Executives outlined the required attributes of industrial sites sought by additional BOC suppliers. The Tennessee economic development expert and his TVA representatives added that communities need effective marketing and a timely and rapid response to the BOC's industrial outlook approach. Additional insights shared by executives included the need for housing and hotel land, and the need for round-trip airfare between Jackson and Detroit, as valuable corporate time is lost when executives have to travel to and from Memphis or Nashville. It was important to ensure that
Mayors attending the fly-in were able to ask questions of Ford leadership and had an informative discussion about available sites and the strategies needed to develop these sites to attract BlueOval supplier industry. urged. “It was an honor for SWTDD to work with West Tennessee leaders and visit Ford World Headquarters in Michigan,” said Joe Barker. “This gave us the opportunity to thank Ford for locating in West Tennessee and hear how we can support them on a local level.”
A meeting with Chassen Haynes, Ford Government Relations Regional Manager, fostered a discussion about education and the need for Ford to collaborate with local education agencies to collaborate on curriculum and program delivery and development. Ta. Its purpose is dual-purpose: retaining and advancing young talent in West Tennessee. Employee skill set. Chassen said Ford is currently working on meetings with several universities and schools to work in this direction.
Both Ford management and fly-in participants are committed to keeping the lines of communication open, sharing the latest information, and working together in a positive and forward-looking direction to wisely prepare the community for industrial and industrial development. , agreed that they should meet regularly in West Tennessee. Residential expansion.
West Tennessee leaders participating in the Ford Fly-in were Mayor Gene Borden (Whiteville), Mayor Mike Creasey (Decatur County), Mayor Kevin Davis (Hardin County), Mayor Craig Fitzhugh (Ripley), Mayor Jeff Griggs (Lexington), Mayor Jan Hensley (Covington), Mayor Robbie McCready (Henderson County), Mayor Julian McTizic (Bolivar), Mayor Ronnie Neal (Somerville), Mayor David Parsons (Bartlett), Gary. Mayor Reasons (Crockett County), Mayor Josh Roman (Lakeland), Mayor Allen Starbinski (Stanton), Mayor Mark Ward (Benton County), Mark Yates (TVA Western Region Vice President), Paul Phelan ( TVA Government Relations Manager), Tracy Exum (TN-ECD Southwest Tennessee Regional Director), Aaron Stewart (Brownsville-Haywood County Economic Development Director), Jason Fleming (Covington City Chief of Staff), Patrick Jaynes ( Jigsaw Consulting), Anna McQuiston (Mid-South Tennessee Development District Director), Joe Barker (SWTDD Executive Director), Jill Holland (SWTDD Local Government and Agencies Special Projects Coordinator), Charlie Brown (SWTDD Information Technology Manager) .
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