BY NANCY COTTEN HIRST DBJ Contributing Editor

Like so many other Delta communities, the Greenville/Washington County area has been hit hard in the past year by closures of companies affected by the newer forms of international competition and trade relationships. While these problems affect the entire country, and probably will for some time yet to come, they have hit the Delta particularly hard recently due to the types of businesses being affected.
Community leaders in the city and county, however, are not burying their heads in the sand, but are actively generating new ideas to deal with new realities in the American economy. Gone are the days, they say, when they can simply try to replace one company with another similar venture. Instead they must look at types of business that are likely to thrive in the region despite competition from cheap labor in developing countries.
The area has lost population since the 1990 census, a fact that pleases no one, but that is also a national trend. Movement out of smaller towns and cities and into more urban areas has been the norm during the entire 20th century, but has been exacerbated in recent years by economic trends. Leaders say the only way to address this issue is to create the kind of economy that can offer a wider range of occupational choices for those who wish to remain at home and to attract newcomers.
There are a number of bright spots in the picture. Per capita income in Greenville/Washington County is significantly higher than a decade ago, far exceeding the impact of inflation. Gross retail sales have grown significantly, reflecting a population that, while smaller, has more expendable income. These figures seem to indicate that jobs being gained are generally of higher quality than those being lost, and leaders say they want to continue this trend and improve upon it.
While the area continues to have a much higher percentage of undereducated citizens than is desirable, it also boasts a new higher education center, which already has more than a thousand students, and access to numerous training programs which can rectify this problem for those who wish to gain better education and skills.
Barthel Joseph, Jr., a local attorney and economic development volunteer, comments on one such program. “The Workforce Training Act is very advantageous to us. It makes funds available to train our people in almost any field. If a company tells us it will need sixty people with specific skills in six months, we can now provide that.
“I’m optimistic, but I’m realistic, too. I guess you could say I’m a realistic optimist,” he chuckles. “State legislation, combined with our other assets, has given us every possible tool with which to help ourselves. I can’t imagine a tool that we don’t have–railroads, rivers, airfields, available space, workforce. Our recent trip to Washington was meant to explain to people all that we do have–to get them to point people in our direction.
“I’m also very optimistic about tourism,” Joseph continues. “It is becoming apparent that this is the quickest and least expensive way to get a shot in the arm. We’re really pushing that. It may be our first impetus for a turnaround. We have the hotel space, but we have no meeting space. We need a convention center downtown, and we’re looking at all the options for that.”
Tommy Hart, Executive Director of the Washington County Industrial Foundation, agrees that there is reason for optimism. “We are in an opportune posture right now with assets to offer companies. We have six first class facilities available, ranging from 70,000 to 460,000 sq. ft. They are in excellent condition, very competitively priced, and represent tremendous value for companies looking for facilities.
“We also have an incentive program that is second to none. We will soon receive designation as a Growth and Prosperity county (GAP), which will make us virtually a tax-free zone. Coupled with federal Empowerment Zone incentives, companies can be sheltered from federal income tax,” Hart says.
“We also soon will have added 400,000 sq. ft. of new retail space. We really haven’t captured the full benefit of our retailing position for a number of years, so we’re real excited about that. These are newer retailing concepts which will enable us to penetrate deeper into our trade area through unique retail and service offerings.
“While the loss of any company–or any job–is something we do not like to see, it does occur from time to time. Our job is to help our companies remain competitive and we have an aggressive program under–way to accomplish that. Through use of inducement programs, we encourage them to modernize make changes needed to compete in today’s economy.
“The other side of the program is to find new companies that will locate here, replacing what is lost and growing in the future,” Hart continues. We have 86 very viable, active and steady manufacturers, and they are responsible for some $25 million in new facilities and equipment placed in this county this year, along with 150 new jobs. This is slower job growth than we normally have, due to the downturn in the national and international economies, but these companies continue to do well. We are still averaging about the same number of people employed, and we are in a position to recover quickly,” Hart concludes.
Heather Haik, of the Greenville Mall, agrees with Hart that retail is healthy in the area. “We are 100% leased,” she says, “and we are pleased with business. People come from fifty miles away and farther, and they spend the dollars. On a dollars-per-square-foot basis, we are doing very well.”
Haik points out that the mall offers a wider and more upscale range of merchandisers than in the past, and that many of the merchants have expanded and remodeled recently. Several of the shops, she remarks, are the top producers in their districts. “Our employees are excellent here,” Haik says. “They take pride in their jobs and have a lot of heart.”
Another bright spot for Greenville is in the medical field. Both Kings Daughters and Delta Regional Medical Center are expanding, and good medical services are an important feature in the quality of life issues that appeal to new business. Kim Coughlin, Community Relations Director for Kings Daughters, outlines the hospital’s $1.9 million expansion, which she says is targeted for an August completion.
There will be a cardiac area, a pediatric area which includes a pediatric waiting room, an orthopedic area, three treatment rooms and two trauma rooms, along with four “fast track” patient rooms. Coughlin is also proud of the mobile MRI unit which offers 8:00 to 5:00 diagnostic services on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the recently-certified sleep lab, services of which are now covered by all insurance carriers. She says the program is so busy that they increased to two sleep rooms.
Licensed for 137 beds, the hospital is virtually full-service. “The only things we don’t have,” she says, “is neurology, and although we have cardiac care, we don’t have a cath lab here, so we don’t do heart surgery.” Coughlin also says that they are actively recruiting, particularly for registered nurses. “We like to hire right out of school and train the new graduates here. We get good graduates from Delta State and from Mississippi Delta Community College.”
Delta Regional Medical Center, the second largest health care facility in North Mississippi (second only to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo), has recently opened a second Cardiac Catheterization Lab. The Medical Center’s Heart and Vascular Center is the only heart program in the Delta to include the open-heart surgery component among its services. According to June Charles, Director of Cardiovascular Services, the new Cath Lab is equipped for both cardiac and peripheral interventions.
“One of the most exciting aspects of the new lab is our state-of-the-art online imaging network that is capable of storing and retrieving patient studies for seven years,” Charles says. “The network also includes a remote workstation in the cardiovascular operating suite so the heart surgeon can view the patient’s studies during surgery.” “It is one of the only systems of its kind in the State,” Ms. Charles added.
Delta Regional Medical Center also has recently added an advanced new Laboratory system and is in the process of beginning construction for the expansion of its parking facilities and renovations to the Emergency Room.
Mayor Paul Artman says that Greenville is a great place to live, but adds that with recent economic trends it isn’t always easy. “We’re working hard–you’ve got to,” he says. “We’re working hard on retail and entertainment opportunities. We’re really trying to build that. We also have a number of manufacturing projects that we’re working diligently. We have some good prospects for buildings here in town and at the airport.
“There’s a major downtown development project–major artery reconstruction. We have a good plan for trying to do all of downtown. We’ve completed Walnut Street, and Poplar is next–period fixtures, benches, lighting. It’s expensive, so we have to do it street by street.”
Artman says that a lakefront park is also under construction, which will tie in with the boat ramp and other lakefront parks and facilities. A large soccer complex adjacent to Solomon School hosts local, regional and state competitions and he says that the city and county are working to create a combined facility for youth baseball. There is a large tennis center as well as adult softball facilities at Ward Center and an 18-hole municipal golf course.
Betty Lynn Cameron, Executive Director of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce Lori Corder, who heads up the Main Street program, and Natalie Criss, Revenue and Program Development Manager point out many more improvement projects and quality of life programs. Among these are the little theater group, Delta Center Stage, which has been popular for many years; the Delta Symphony; the Greenville Arts Council and its programs; Mainstream Arts and Crafts Festival; Greenville Celebrates America (the annual 4th of July event), the annual Balloon Festival, and the annual Red Cross dinner theater which involves the whole community. The Arts Council has just received a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission to further improve the Bass Cultural Arts Center and a project to improve the major entrances to town is underway.
A special membership drive will be underway for the Chamber in June, and the Chamber is also currently accepting applications for Leadership Washington County. This is a community orientation for new business leaders in the Greenville area, and its 2001–2002 academic year starts in August.
In short, Greenville/Washington County is fighting the fight of so many small cities in largely rural areas. It has great people, great culture, and many other pluses, but it still must fight the battle of attracting businesses that will thrive through the Information Age and further. With many dedicated, determined and talented leaders, it appears that this task may well be accomplished. DBJ