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.

Happy July 4th, Independence Day!!

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StartUp Tennessee announced

Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty announced the launch of Startup Tennessee, an initiative to encourage entreprenuership and to support start up businesses in Tennessee.

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I’ll think I’ll still tell my mother I’m a used car salesman

Some of those who incredibly inflate job creation numbers should take a warning from this, but most economic developers did not deserve the negative story NPR is now apologizing for: “Planet Money Misfires on Local Economic Developers.”  Thanks to Jeff Finkle, IEDC … Continue reading

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County Labor Force Estimates Released

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development released the labor force estimates and unemployment rates for Tennessee counties today.  The total labor force estimates and the portion looking for work for Hickman County and its surrounding counties can be found at … Continue reading

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Information for Businesses affected by Disaster

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) is trying to spread the word to businesses who suffered losses in the recent severe storms, tornadoes and flooding about TEMA’s Disaster Recovery Centers and the services that are offered in the centers. When … Continue reading

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Theatre and creativity alive and well

I attended the closing performance of Beth, the Musical last night. It is good to see that people are still willing to use their creativity, share their talent, work hard in production and put on a play.

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Hickman County’s National Banana Pudding Festival Cook-off crankin’ up soon

The National Banana Pudding Festival will be held in Hickman County on October 1, 2011. The events leading up to the NBPF have begun such as the Hickman County Banana Pudding Cook-off.

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Last Three-Star Program Review before Three-Star Program is reviewed

The Tennessee Governor’s Three-Star Award for Economic and Community Development Preparedness celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. This year, the review deadline was moved up to June 30th, but I had a notebook full of documentation on Hickman County’s efforts … Continue reading

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Beating the heat 2.0

Consensus from last Sunday’s family reunion:  Lots of stuff has changed over the years, but kids (and adults) still love to wade a creek on a hot summer day. Lots of creeks in Hickman County.

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TN ECD names RDs to lead “Base Camps” & the PM team for Jobs4TN

ECD Team Members to Lead Regional “Base Camps” and Recruit Companies to TN NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner (ECD) Bill Hagerty today announced the selection of eight new regional directors as part … Continue reading

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Why can’t Johnny measure my 2X4?

“Industry Puts Heat on Schools to Teach Skills Employers Need” on WSJ.com presents a problem that I hear from existing industry – entraints into the workforce do not have the skills employers need and the mass of baby boomers are … Continue reading

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State of Tennessee adds an advocate for small business

Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson appointed an advocate to help businesses with fewer than 50 employees deal with regulatory issues with state departments and agencies. For more information, check out the press release or the contact information page.

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Everyone needs a pep talk every now and then

When you work alone, it’s great to  call on Henry V for a little motivation:

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CEcD for another three

My certification from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) as a certified economic developer (CEcD) was up at the end of this year. It takes meeting the experience requirements, completing hours of approved training and passing the two-day examination process to … Continue reading

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Praise the lard, Papa Kayjoe’s BBQ in Garden & Gun

I just picked up the latest edition of Garden & Gun magazine and found Centerville, Tennessee’s own Papa KayJoe’s Barbeque’s Hoecake BBQ Sandwich featured in the article “The South in a Sandwich.” It does have some great BBQ and the … Continue reading

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There really is a Bucksnort exit on the information superhighway

Maybe this post says it better, but I think I’ve said a lot of this before: “Getting rural businesses to see Internet value”  I have seen much improvement on rural technology utilization, but it is still a challenge to make the … Continue reading

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Natchez Trace Parkway Association

I belong to the Natchez Trace Parkway Association and I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the Tennessee chapter yesterday in Franklin, TN. The Natchez Trace played a big part in our nation’s history and the Natchez Trace Parkway … Continue reading

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Broadband Key to Small Business Success

FCC Chairman talks about broadband being key to small business success.

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The greenfield sites are greener…

From RetailTrafficMag.com: “Hungry for Tax Revenue, Municipalities Serve Up Incentives to Lure Retailers and Developers.” Incentives shouldn’t be the seen as the first option. These communities could not be successful without funding marketing, staff and a community retail development strategy.

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Regional Rural Education Summit

The Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit will be held July 19-20 at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. Session topics include using technology to improve student achievement, strategies for improving high school graduation and college completion rates, implications of federal policy … Continue reading

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Time to move for success

Here’s another story about manufacturing making a comeback in the United States, “Making Things in America” by Paul Krugman of The New York Times. If it is true, it will take a little time to absorb the excess inventory of quality … Continue reading

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The Four Rs – Reforming Reading, Writing and ‘rithmetic

The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned last night, approving a balanced budget that begins to add back to our rainy-day fund – an enviable position for most states. Among the most discussed topics was education reform, which affected collective bargaining by teachers and included tenure … Continue reading

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Historical Chess Match Played in Bon Aqua, TN

The Memphis Chess Club History blog contains a post, “Dropped and Forgotten Chess Pieces,” that includes a story on a historical chess match held in the 1880s at the Bon Aqua Springs Hotel. John Noel State Natural Area now overlooks the former … Continue reading

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Manufacturing resurgence in America?

“Moving back to America: The dwindling allure of building factories offshore” in The Economist magazine is a good article about the leveling of the playing field in location decision analysis for manufacturing industrial site selection. Especially for goods manufactured for … Continue reading

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“Beth”, a musical about Beth Slater Whitson

Beth is a new musical/drama written by Clay Harris and Daniel Bey that is based on the life of Beth Slater Whitson (1879-1930). Beth will be staged at the Johnson Theatre in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center on June 17th at 7:30pm … Continue reading

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Tennessee General Assembly passes Tort Reform, Governor Haslam will sign it into law

The Tennessee General Assembly has passed tort reform, Governor Bill Haslam’s Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011. The bill will put reasonable limits on damages courts can levy on businesses for plantiffs. One of the components to help make Tennessee … Continue reading

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My apologies and sympathies to my former local big bookstore that put my local independent bookstore out of business

“E-Books Outsell Print Books at Amazon” in the New York Times reports that e-books for the Kindle account for more book sales than paper books. I have to admit, I love the Kindle. In the Nashville area, two Borders and … Continue reading

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What a long strange trip it’s been…

The past few weeks remind me of a novel I read a couple of years ago by Joshua Ferris called Then We Came to the End. There are a lot of uncertainties orbiting the certainty of change. Out of that change is coming … Continue reading

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National Banana Pudding Festival to be held October 1st

The 2nd annual Banana Pudding Festival will be held October 1st in Centerville, Tennessee. Their website has all the info on submitting recipes for the contest, becoming a vendor or just planning your trip to eat lots of banana pudding.

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Bill to require Amazon to collect TN sales & use tax won’t pass this year

Tennessee General Assembly House Finance Committee delayed a bill that seeks to require Amazon.com to collect sales taxes on its in-Tennessee sales. Committee Chairman Charles Sargent vowed to revisit the issue in 2012.

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