A long time ago and in a place far, far away, I earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. Other than the rare occasions that I stayed with hospitable classmates or lived off the kindness of strangers, I made the 1.5 hour one-way commute to Clarksville from Hickman County for my last three semesters of undergraduate work. It was a place far, far away to finish my degree, a drive that stretched my time and financial resources to the point that some days I wondered if it was going to be worth it all.
Well, it was worth it, a tremendous return on my investment. I was pleased to read today in my Austin Peay (Let’s go Peay!) alumni magazine that Hickman County is a lot closer to a Bachelor of Business Administration from AP than it was 15 years ago. Austin Peay and Nashville State Community College will offer, beginning this Fall 2009 semester, all the courses required for the B.B.A. degree at the Renaissance Center on State Route 46 in Dickson. This is such a great opportunity for people in the area to start or return to higher education and earn a Bachelor’s degree.
For more information, visit www.apsu.edu/dickson .
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.
