Local Leaders Unveil Plan To Bring High-tech Jobs To Rutherford County
August 29, 2007, MURFREESBORO – Today, Chamber of Commerce officials, local business leaders and U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon unveiled a plan to lure more high-tech jobs to Rutherford County.
The effort, Middle Tennessee Mind2Marketplace, aims to create a synergy with federal labs, academic groups and business leaders to develop technology-based ideas in order to create jobs and expand economic development in Rutherford County and throughout Middle Tennessee.
“Good jobs help build strong families and a higher quality of life,” said Gordon. “Rutherford County can play an important role in making the Mind2Marketplace effort a success. We have an active Chamber of Commerce, a thriving university and visionary business leaders who see how this effort could improve the quality of life here by bringing more high-tech, higher-paying jobs to the area.”
Middle Tennessee Mind2Marketplace is comprised of academic professionals, businesspeople, educators, Chamber of Commerce officials and government leaders. The group formed in response to a challenge issued by Gordon calling for a coordinated effort to create a high-tech corridor in the region.
Gordon’s challenge resonated with Murfreesboro businesswoman Andrea Loughry, who has spearheaded the efforts of Middle Tennessee Mind2Marketplace.
“We have a consortium which has spent over a year connecting the dots of innovation in the middle section of Tennessee,” said Loughry. “We have already experienced partnerships develop between institutions such as MTSU and UT’s Space Institute, and between existing federal and state programs such as Tennessee Small Business Development Center and UT's Institute for Public Service.
“Where does the citizen inventor go to coordinate all of the services available including capital? We want to establish that service for Middle Tennessee.”
The group says Middle Tennessee, with its booming business community and numerous academic institutions, is well-positioned to play a role in a regional high-tech corridor anchored by Marshall Space Flight Center to the south in Huntsville, Ala. and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to the east.
Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce officials including Vice President of Economic Development Holly Sears welcomed today’s announcement.
“The goals set forth by Congressman Gordon and now with the organization, Mind2Marketplace, are in sync with the goals set forth in Destination Rutherford,” said Sears. “We are actively working to recruit new companies and work with our existing companies on opportunities, and now we have an opportunity to grow new companies right here in Middle Tennessee.”
At today’s meeting with local officials, the group also unveiled its logo and Web site at www.mind2marketplace.com.
