FUTURE FOCUS 2001 - 2005 Has Delivered!

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (from first 4 Years)

1. 6,855 new jobs created (3,738 primary + 3,117 secondary)
2. Average per capita income 22% above state average
3. $130 million of new commercial and industrial construction
4. $11 million in new property tax revenues in next ten years projected from new construction
5. $60 million annual increase in personal consumption expenditures = greater sales + greater sales tax collections

OTHER NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• Approval of Foreign Trade Zone status creating tax/tariff benefits for 150 businesses in Lee County industrial parks - 5,200 acre Zone area includes 2,000 prime developable acres) - Zone is one of the ten largest FTZs in the country
• Approval and funding for The Renasant Center for IDEAs - new business incubator facility and entrepreneurial support program, located in Tupelo's Fairpark district - opens February, 2006
• Led creation and spearheaded three-county PUL Alliance's marketing efforts for "The Wellspring Project" - 1,707 acre TVA-endorsed megasite
• Lee County Plus initiative secured inventory tax/freeport warehousing relief for business and industry
• Championed efforts to create MEGAPOP, providing high-speed broadband access to NE Mississippi
• Substantially increased efforts and positive outcomes in workforce development, training and career preparedness
• Partnered with CREATE Foundation to expand leadership training through Community Leadership Institute
• Supported local plant expansions/investments by existing business and industry through increased assistance services
• Achieved more rapid sale or lease of vacant industrial buildings, resulting in higher employment rates and increased business activity
• Strong successes in attraction and retention initiatives, bringing 20 new major businesses and industries and 47 major plant expansions to Tupelo/Lee County

"For a small business, we made a large commitment to FUTURE FOCUS. The payoff has been very strong. We've already become a FUTURE FOCUS 2010 Investor and encourage every local business owner and professional to do the same."
    Chauncey Godwin
    C & N Specialty Foods, Inc.
    d/b/a Heavenly Ham

MEASURABLE RESULTS:
10 Benefits for Investors For Tupelo/Lee County, FUTURE FOCUS 2010 will:

• Create 4,000 primary jobs + 6,480 secondary jobs
• Achieve primary job wage rate of $15.25 for new jobs
• Generate $250 million in new payroll dollars
• Increase Lee County personal income by $175 million
• Increase Lee County consumer expenditures by $138 million
• Develop $21 million deposit potential for area banks
• Increase in personal consumption expenditures = greater sales + greater sales tax collections
• Foster $125 million in new capital investment in industrial and office construction - broaden tax base and collections
• Graduate 100 or more trained future community leaders through the Community Leadership Institute program
• Assist in having 2,000 employees receive job skills training
  (ROI projections provided by Capital Strategists Group)
  

"All area residents and businesses benefit from a strong economy and a progressive community. It is our responsibility to support FUTURE FOCUS 2010 with sufficient resources and personal participation to insure these outcomes."
      Tommy Morgan
      Coldwell Banker Tommy Morgan Realtors

WORLD-CLASS COMMUNITY - WORLD-CLASS RECOGNITION

• Named to the top-twenty by Site Selection magazine. Ranked 19th out of America's 100 small cities in new and expanded facilities in 2002, 2003 and 2004
• Business Retention and Expansion International (BREI) selected CDF's Workforce Development Program for a special award at the 2004 annual meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Ranked 2nd in "Top Micropolitans of the Year" - Site Selection magazine
• Ranked 18th strongest economy among the 573 micropolitan areas in the nation and 8th in the southeast in recent Policom Corp. economic strength ranking
• Wellspring Project certified as megasite location by McCallum Sweeney Consulting
• ACCRA Cost of Living Index, the most recognized national index in the United States, lists Tupelo/Lee County 13.4% below the national average
• 50+ of Fortune 500, national and international companies have a presence in Lee County