I liked this blog post, “Does your community need a coffee shop and other third places?“. “Third Places” are described in the post as informal gathering places like cafes, bookstores, public squares, main streets, etc. that fulfill a role in community building that our more structured places such as home and work stifle. The role of the “third places” is to provide an arena for interaction, relationship building, and development of a sense of community within a neutral, accessible, hospitable environment, with a comfortable ease of entrance and exit. In my youth in Hickman County, that place was often called “Earline’s” and the entrance was marked with flashing neon and exit was painless, though definitely not effortless. Times have changed, mostly for the better.
Having “third places” in Hickman County create access points into our community where residents, no matter their tenure, and visitors can sample and acquire a sense of place.
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.
