Hickman County participated in a review of its economic and community development efforts today and was recertified as a Tier II community in the revamped Governor’s Three-Star Excellence in Economic and Community Development Program. A formal presentation of the award to community leaders will be made by Governor Bredesen at the 55th Annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development held on September 15 & 16 at Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
HCECDA coordinates this effort, but it takes many members of the community working together to acheive this award. Their efforts not only earns us this award, but also makes Hickman County a great place to live, work, and do business.
About Daryl Phillips, CEcD
I am a professional economic developer. I presently work for communities and companies in developing and implementing workforce and economic development solutions as CEO of Phillips Economic Development Solutions (Phi EDS).
Prior to September 2017, I was the economic development professional who served a community team of elected officials, business people, community leaders and dedicated stakeholders for economic development in Cheatham County, Tennessee (pop. 39,880) and its four towns. During my five-year tenure, I served the team as Cheatham County grew over 1,700 jobs, turned around population declines at the start of this decade into healthy population growth, increased tourism expenditures 20.3% and local tax revenue from tourism 25.4%, grew sales tax revenue 36%, focused on developing the local workforce and was recognized by SmartAsset as having the 9th highest Incoming Investment Index of all the 95 counties in Tennessee.
I am a member of International Economic Development Council, Southern Economic Development Council, Tennessee Economic Development Council and International Council of Shopping Centers.
I have earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) from International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) certification from National Development Council and hold a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee Technological University.
