Developer: Small towns can, and do, produce jobs
But, says Effingham developer Jack Schultz, no one knows about it. Schultz told those at the Coles Together annual meeting Monday that 740,000 jobs have been created in the United States since January 2001. He said 297,000 of those jobs came from 397 "agurbs" — traditional rural communities. "Can you imagine if those 297,000 jobs all came from one area? The media would flock there to tell the story," Schultz said. "These 397 communities are scattered all over the country and no one knows about it. We need to get the word out." Schultz said he first looked at 15,800 communities outside the metropolitan areas. He then narrowed it to 800, then to 397 and finally came up with a list of the top 100 small towns that had startling economic results. The result was his 7 ½ keys to small-town success: 1. Adopt a "can do" attitude 2. Shape your vision 3. Leverage your resources 4. Raise up strong leaders 5. Encourage entrepreneurs 6. Maintain local control 7. Build your brand 7 1/2 . Embrace the teeter-totter factor Schultz said there are 13 "agurbs" in Illinois with one n Marion in Southern Illinois n among the top 100 in the country. He said Richard Lumpkin of Mattoon is an example of maintaining local control when Lumpkin and other investors repurchased Consolidated Communications from McLeodUSA last year. He said Branson, Mo., built its brand name as a concert center. Thirty years ago, Schultz said, Branson had one theater. Today there are 65 theaters with concerts that attract 7 million tourists annually. Afterwards, Schultz acknowledged that getting residents of a community to support plans is essential. He said all communities have "CAVE people" n Citizens Against Virtually Everything. "You can have leaders with a ‘can-do' attitude, but are people going to support them? People need to support visionary leaders," he said. Schultz said it can be difficult for some people to envision a small Missouri community as an entertainment center, but it worked in Branson. By BILL LAIR, Managing Editor
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