Neighborly chat and canned peas in aisle 4

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Daryl Phillips, CEcD

Snow and ‘wintry mix’ are in the forecast tonight and I am feeling that stereotypical Southern urge to run to the grocery store and stock up on milk and bread to weather the storm. I’m not sure we or anyone else would starve during the short duration of Tennessee’s winter storms, but it does make one think about how nice it is to have a convenient local grocery store. Sustaining a full service grocery store is no longer a given in small towns, even with their importance to a community’s quality of place. The Center for Rural Affairs maintains the Saving the Small Town Grocery Store website that has information on how rural entreprenuers can start or sustain a small town grocery store and how a rural community can help support a convenient place to shop for groceries — not only to weather a winter storm, but also to prepare for next summer’s picnics.

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.
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