Author Archives: Daryl Phillips, CEcD

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.

TIGER grants replaced by BUILD grants for local/regional transportation infrastructure

From U.S. Department of Transportation press release: U.S. Department of Transportation Launches BUILD Transportation Program, Announces $1.5 Billion Notice of Funding Opportunity WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to apply … Continue reading

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Happy Economic Development Week!

This week has been designated as Economic Development Week to recognize the hard work economic developers accomplish to make their communities stronger and to highlight the importance of an organized economic development effort to the wealth and sustainability of our … Continue reading

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An update on Opportunity Zones and Opportunity Funds

The first deadline for designation of Opportunity Zones and Opportunity Funds have passed and the U.S. Department of Treasury has begun evaluating and officially designating Opportunity Zones.  You may check out the status of Opportunity Zone designations on an interactive … Continue reading

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Have your quality in economic development programs recognized by your peers

Wouldn’t it be great to have your quality in economic development programs recognized by your peers to prove your value to your stakeholders?  The IEDC 2018 Excellence in Economic Development Awards application deadline quickly approaching on May 11, 2018. International … Continue reading

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Retail Development Event for Tennessee and Kentucky

The 2018 ICSC Tennessee/Kentucky Idea Exchange will be held on Monday, July 23rd and Tuesday, July 24th in Louisville, Kentucky.  This is always a great event to learn more about retail development and the latest trends in attracting new retailers … Continue reading

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How to ask your local government for money to promote rural tourism

Click on the link below: How to Ask For Tax Dollars to Market Your Rural Tourism Destination

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Happy Pi Day!

I hope that you have a happy Pi day, whether you want to celebrate the irrational number 3.14159265359…., which is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, or the tasty round treat.

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2018 IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Awards

International Economic Development Council’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. These 34 awards honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change … Continue reading

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Opportunity Zones and Opportunity Funds – Another Economic Tool for Your Community?

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017 also established what looks like a beneficial tool to attract private capital investment to economically distressed communities. Opportunity Zones and Opportunity Funds were included by Congress in the 2017 … Continue reading

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Successful Succession Planning for Business

You’ve heard that saying, “All good things must come to an end.”  That end for a business or organization can be as a result of retirement, passing to another generation, moving on to new adventures or less pleasant disruptions one … Continue reading

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Opportunity Funds – A new resource for economic development investment

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017 also established what looks like a beneficial tool to attract private capital investment to economically distressed communities. Opportunity Zones and their associated Opportunity Funds were included by Congress in … Continue reading

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Business resiliency and planning for disruption

Are your businesses prepared to sustain themselves through a disaster or disruption? A great resource for helping businesses and organizations become more resilient is RestoreYourEconomy.org, funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) and managed by the … Continue reading

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Helping businesses connect to customers online

It is easy to forget the importance of technology to promote our communities and to help our businesses connect to customers.  It is not so important to chase the latest, hottest application as it is to pick one or two … Continue reading

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Have a wonderful life this holiday season!

On this Christmas Eve, we watched the holiday movie, It’s a Wonderful Life , which is an annual tradition for us.  I am always reminded (and I’m sure that my wife is tired of my talking about it) that this movie is … Continue reading

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Small Business Saturday – Better than Black Friday and Cooler than Cyber Monday (Nov. 25th)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas Shopping Season.  Black Friday can be crazy, so be sure to put Small Business Saturday on your shopping calendar. This year, Small Business Saturday is on November 25th.  You may just find … Continue reading

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2017 Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Economic & Community Development

I will be busy out of town that week and will miss this event for the first time in many years.  However, economic development professionals, business leaders, community leaders and elected officials will be attending the 64th Annual Tennessee Governor’s … Continue reading

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2017 IEDC Annual Conference

I arrived in Canada on Friday to participate in the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) conference.  IEDC will officially convene its 2017 Annual Conference here in Toronto, Ontario this afternoon.  Around 1,300 economic development professionals from around the world have already … Continue reading

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Dove hunting season or shooting for tourism growth

Looking at the analytics and the number of recent hits related to dove season on this blog this morning, I am reminded how diverse rural tourism can be and how difficult it is for a community’s tourism marketing to be … Continue reading

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Disaster and Disruption Planning for Communities and Companies

My thoughts and prayers are with those communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey. In 2010, I was the economic development director in a county heavily impacted by the “2010 Nashville Flood” during which we received around 20 inches of rain. Later, … Continue reading

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I put a dollar in a change machine and I didn’t get it

Yesterday, I began a new adventure.  After almost 5 years, I submitted my resignation several weeks ago to leave my position as the economic development professional for a county to become more entrepreneurial.  However, I hope to continue to work … Continue reading

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Workforce development for advanced manufacturing in the Cheatham County region

Last October, I posted on this blog about a LEAP 2.o (Labor Education Alignment Program – LEAP) grant that the Cheatham County Joint Economic & Community Development Board in collaboration with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Dickson (TCAT) … Continue reading

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Cheatham County May 2017 unemployment rate lowest in nearly 2 decades

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development released labor market estimates for Tennessee Counties for May 2017 on Thursday afternoon.  The unemployment rate for Cheatham County was the 5th lowest of Tennessee’s 95 counties at 2.3%.  That, combined with … Continue reading

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2017 Tennessee Economic and Community Development Conference

The 64th Annual Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Economic & Community Development on October 26th and 27th, 2017 at the Gatlinburg Convention Center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Economic development professionals, business leaders, community leaders and elected officials will be attending, including some … Continue reading

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Tennessee Reconnect: Help for adults to go back to college

In an effort to help Tennesseans qualify for better jobs and to meet the workforce needs of our employers, Tennessee provides assistance to adults who want go back to school and complete a degree or a technical certificate program.  Tennessee … Continue reading

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How do you measure your workforce?

This week, I was compiling some recently released data for Cheatham County and the other 94 counties in Tennessee.  The 2016 U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates by County and Labor Force Estimates for Tennessee were released in the past few … Continue reading

Posted in Plätze für Fabriken mit Qualitätsarbeitskräften, Qualitätsarbeitskräften, quality labor force, workforce | Comments Off on How do you measure your workforce?

The It’s a Wonderful Life EDO

From 642 Tiny Things to Write About**: Write an alternate ending for It’s a Wonderful Life. I would like to think that George Bailey takes the excess donations from his friends and funds a formal economic development organization for Bedford Falls. … Continue reading

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Why Invest in Economic Development

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) has published a resource, Why Invest in Economic Development, for members, elected officials and others interested in supporting economic development in their communities. The federal government has always played a key supporting role in … Continue reading

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Tennessee Rural Economic Development Conference

We are looking forward to participating in the 22nd annual Tennessee Rural Development Conference to be held in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Wednesday and Thursday of this week (March 22-23, 2017.)  The theme is “Rural Renaissance.” Hosted by Tennessee Valley Authority … Continue reading

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A post with economic development tied to a haiku, it’s true!

From 642 Tiny Things to Write About**: Write a haiku about your favorite food. Baloney sandwich with Coke from a country store Spring day memories Country stores, especially those where you can get a bologna sandwich (sliced while you wait in … Continue reading

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Right turn on LOCAL CITIZENS WHO SUPPORT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STREET

I started this blog on August 7, 2007, nearly ten years ago, and after over 1,100 posts, I still find it a challenge to frequently write posts that meet my standards – that I enjoy writing the blog post and … Continue reading

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