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.

Grinders Switch Music & Arts Festival next Saturday

Next Saturday, Sept. 11th on the historic public square in Centerville, Tennessee, the 18th annual Grinder’s Switch Music & Arts Festival honors Minnie Pearl and Grinders Switch with a day (9am to midnight) of music, arts, food and fun. The … Continue reading

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Reasons to eat local from our Canadian friends

“Shop Local” has an economic impact as well as a more difficult to quantify impact on a community’s quality of place. “Eat Local” and the localvore movement has all that as well as addressing a clear health concern. I think … Continue reading

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Hickman County’s Electric Power Provider Ranked in Ten Best

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was recently named as one of the top ten utilities in North America for economic development. Site Selection magazine in its September edition published its top ten utilities of the year in the article, “A … Continue reading

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Soaking up the arts and crafts

An article in BusinessTN magazine, “New Moon“, includes information on the budding artisan microdistillery industry in Tennessee. The author concludes with the statement, “A year after lawmakers passed a law restoring part of Tennessee’s rich heritage as a spirits-producing state … Continue reading

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October 2nd – Cars, craft, comfort food

The first Saturday in October will have a lot of things to do in Hickman County — there must be something that would appeal to you. The Civitan “Centerville in the Fall” Car Show, the Quilt Show and the National … Continue reading

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas Basketball Tournament…

Someone told me that Costco already had Christmas items on the shelf. Well, maybe it’s not too early to start planning a trip to the 2010 Hickman County First Farmers Above the Rim Christmas Invitational Basketball Tournament held on December … Continue reading

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Manufacturing: It’s so popular, no one goes there anymore

A recent article put out by the Southern Growth Policies Board, “Manufacturing: The Misunderstood Industry“, chronicles a trend most everyone is seeing. The article begins: According to a 2009 national survey, Americans believe that manufacturing is the most important industry … Continue reading

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Apparel Archeology

I am one of those people that a story of my life, at least the past decade, is outlined in the stack of t-shirts in my closet. Two that were added to my experiential casual wardrobe were the ‘Born and … Continue reading

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Century Farms Recognition

I attended the Hickman County Fair today for the Tennessee Century Farms recognition event and the reception recognizing 100 years of UT Extension. One farm joined obtained the Century Farm distinction this year, making 18 in Hickman County. One of … Continue reading

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Flirting with disaster

With flood recovery ongoing and the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this weekend, I’m reminded that being prepared makes sense for us. SBA has a new website, www.preparemybusiness.org, that will help a business create its disaster preparedness plan.

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Too high, but a sign of the times

The July Labor Force Estimates for Tennessee counties were released today. Hickman County had the lowest unemployment rate of the eight counties in our local workforce area (LWIA 10) at 11.2%. Marshall County at 15.7% was the highest. For all … Continue reading

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Energy Efficiency Loan Program

Governor Phil Bredesen and Commissioner Matt Kisber, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, announced today the launch of a new $50 million Energy Efficiency Loan Program to help Tennessee companies finance investments in energy efficient technology, energy retrofits and … Continue reading

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Push, pull or complain about sitting still

Somewhere I read the quote, “Noah’s Ark was built by volunteers, the Titanic was built by professionals.” Okay, that’s not fair to those shipfitters and boilermakers, but it does point out the value of volunteers and community involvement. If you … Continue reading

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If you won’t listen to me, listen to an "expert"

“How to Achieve Your Small Business Start-Up Success Story: Use Social Media, Talk to Others in Your Industry, Expert Says“

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Twitter…. Facebook… LinkedIn… more info for business

Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin? Finding the right fit for your small business.

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Tennessee Alternative Fuels & BioEnergy Conference

The Tennessee Alternative Fuels and BioEnergy Conference began Sunday evening at Montgomery Bell State Park and concludes today. The conference, hosted by a coalition of private industry groups and government known as the 25 by ’25 State Alliance, will give … Continue reading

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Retail Development.. rewarding

For optimum results, retail development as an economic development effort takes a collaborative effort from economic development professionals, government officials, landowners, developers, entrepreneurs, real estate professionals and the community. I have arranged for TVA Economic Development’s retail expert, Chuck Marquis, … Continue reading

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2010 Governor’s Conference on Economic & Community Development – Nashville, Tennessee

The 57th annual Governor’s Conference on Economic & Community Development will be held at the Nashville Convention Center in downtown Nashville on September 16th and 17th. Economic development professionals, community leaders, elected officials and business leaders will attend to learn … Continue reading

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Grinder’s Switch Music and Arts Festival in Centerville, TN

Held Saturday, Sept. 11th on the historic public square in Centerville, Tennessee, the 18th annual Grinder’s Switch Music & Arts Festival honors Minnie Pearl and Grinders Switch with a day (9am to midnight) of music, arts, food and fun. The … Continue reading

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Leadership Hickman 2011 starts soon!

Hickman County Economic & Community Development Association is forming the Leadership Hickman class for 2010-2011. The Leadership Hickman webpage has an overview of the program and the brochure for this year’s class has more specific information. Applications should be in … Continue reading

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TGIF

This has been a busy two weeks. From RFIs to labor force and wage and benefit report requests to designing and printing marketing materials to grant applications to Governor’s Three-Star Award for Economic & Community Development Preparedness re-certification review to … Continue reading

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Economic uptick for Tennessee? Sales tax collections grow – Nashville Business Journal

Economic uptick for Tennessee? Sales tax collections grow – Nashville Business Journal Local sales and use tax collections across Tennessee were up 4.4% from July 2009 to July 2010. Local sales and use tax collections for Hickman County were up … Continue reading

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Is Your Small Town Tourism Destination Featured on Trazzler?

RuralTourismMarketing.com had this post, “Is Your Small Town Tourism Destination Featured on Trazzler?” I’ve got to check this out… looks like a great tool for communicating with people looking for those tourism experiences that your community has.

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National Banana Pudding Festival – Centerville, TN

Hickman County will host to the National Banana Pudding Festival on October 2, 2010. If you like old-fashioned banana pudding or just old-fashioned fun, mark your calendar to celebrate comfort food! Location:Hickman County Ag Pavilion979 Grinder’s SwitchCenterville, TN 37033 10:00 … Continue reading

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Rural can provide great shopping experience at a good value

An article in today’s The New York Times, “But Will It Make You Happy?“, provides a lot of ideas on rural tourism and rural retail, even though that isn’t even the main point of the article. Spending less and spending … Continue reading

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Retail Development Presentation

For optimum results, retail development as an economic development effort takes a collaborative effort from economic development professionals, government officials, landowners, developers, entrepreneurs, real estate professionals and the community. We tried this a couple of years ago without gaining much … Continue reading

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You can’t spell "Community Development" without community

Nothing like a call from an old friend. I had one of those yesterday afternoon. Don and I worked together doing project work a while back and we did a little reminiscing about ‘the good old days.’ Having administrative assistance … Continue reading

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HIRE Act, a tax break for employers that hire the unemployed

Recently enacted legislation, the HIRE Act (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act), can provide tax incentives to employers who hire people who are unemployed. The first, referred to as the payroll tax exemption, provides employers with an exemption from the … Continue reading

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2010 Hickman County Fair

Just a little advanced notice so that you can mark your calendar — According to www.tennesseefairs.com, the Hickman County Fair will be held August 25-28 at the Hickman County Agricultural Pavilion and Fairgrounds in Centerville, TN..Be sure to ride all … Continue reading

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Technology-based Entrepreneurship Training

Entrepreneurship training can be a challenge. Some people start their business not knowing what they don’t know. Some need to learn more to grow their business and don’t have or don’t take the time to learn how to sustain it. … Continue reading

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