Executive Director’s Message
From the desk of G.C. Hixson...
Incentives in Today's Economy:

When officials make difficult yet good decisions, they should be commended. The Wilson County Commission recently did this when addressing the county's competitive position in the area of economic development. During the last quarter the Commission approved an expansion of its standardized Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) program for existing and new companies by allowing real property to be a part of our proposals. Even during the best of economic times, a large percentage of public entities are already participating in various degrees of incentive programs. In Tennessee the state assistance has been in the form of tax credits, training assistance, roads and infrastructure improvements while local communities used local property tax abatements as its enticement. We often find ourselves in a position of not being able to respond to incentive questions in a quick and businesslike manner. By working with the Commission we believe a fair, equitable resolution is accomplished.

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Hartmann Professional Building: $9M Surgery Center Receives Approval

Approval has been given to construct a new $9 million surgery center and medical office to be located at the intersection of South Hartmann Drive just South of I-40 and near Physicians Plaza on Physicians Way. The new medical facility will include medical offices and an outpatient surgery center. The facility will be a four-story structure containing 45,000 square feet on a three acre tract.

Nissan Parts Redistribution Center Opens in Wilson County

With ribbon cutting ceremony held last month, Wilson County has become an international hub for Nissan with the Nissan Parts Redistribution Center and Export Center on Industrial Blvd. located at Couchville Pike and SR 840. Dignitaries were given a tour of the 712,000 square foot facility after the ribbon-cutting. It was noted that it took eight weeks, 800 truckloads and 1,500 hours of labor to complete the move from two buildings in Smyrna to consolidate operations in the new facility. Now housed under one roof is three parts operations:
• The NPRC - distributes service parts to dealers throughout North America as well as Puerto Rico and the Middle East.
• The Nissan Export Center - supplies production parts to plants worldwide including Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Thailand and Spain. It also supplies dealer packaged service parts to Japan, Europe and the Middle East. Service parts for all U.S. built Nissan vehicles are provided to these countries.
• The Nissan Trading Company - distributes service parts to global companies.

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Lochinvar Expands

Work began on the expansion of Lochinvar Corporation's finished product warehouse at its Lebanon Distribution Center. The 23,000 square foot addition is expected to be completed in August, 2010.
The Lebanon-based company also announced several new products and a new Solar Thermal Heating initiative at the AHR Expo in Orlando, Fla.
"Already 2010 is proving to be an exciting year for Lochinvar," said President Bill Vallett in announcing the expansion. "Despite the recent and ongoing economic conditions, our continued investments in research and development have proved successful with the upcoming introduction of several new products and the implementation of our Solar Thermal Heating initiative."
Jeff Vallett, executive vice president, noted that solar water heating has been around for some time but has never really caught on commercially. "Our goal is to get it placed more in a commercial application as well as residential. We feel there is a real need for commercial to take advantage of the free power.
"So we have teamed up with an Austrian company named Tisun, one of the global leaders in solar, and we're basically using their technology and making it fit in a North American market. We're starting that process this week and hopefully we'll be ready to go by mid-summer. It's unique in that we're going into the commercial markets."
Many of the new products will be manufactured at the Lebanon headquarters.
"We're committed to new product development ... and we recognize that when this economy finally turns, we'd better have the space for our goods." Jeff Vallett said. He added that Lochinvar is putting in a new stainless steel water heater line as well as the solar initiative.
Lochinvar Corporation also has facilities in Detroit, Orlando, Tampa, Pompano Beach and Dallas, Lochinvar stocks all products in all locations.

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Wilson County . . . The Place To Be

The "Regional Campaign Kick-Off" luncheon for the new Wilson County slogan and logo was held in May with hundreds of people from throughout the county in attendance. The event was held on the lawn in
front of the Mitchell House on West Main Street, where attendees heard celebrities, business leaders and school officials talk about the virtues of living in the county.
The event was pulled together by Wilson Bank & Trust Chairman and CEO Randall Clemons who said the idea had been discussed among county leaders for some time. A Lifestyle Wilson County Planning Committee was formed and included the three county chambers, the heads of county and city governments and a number of prominent business representatives. A subcommittee was formed to approve a logo design which includes the web address, wilsoncountytn.org, which is now online as well.

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JECDB Exhibits at 2010 ICSC RECon Show

The Joint Economic & Community Development Board of Wilson County along with the Cities of Lebanon, Mt. Juliet and Watertown had the opportunity to showcase the community to an international audience of decision makers at the 2010 ICSC RECon show in Las Vegas, Nevada held May 23-25.
RECon is the world's largest retail real estate convention offering a global audience of retail real estate professionals an unparalleled opportunity to make deals, attend educational sessions and network with their peers in the industry. More than 30,000 people attended this year's event and attendees had the opportunity to hear from several notable speakers including former Governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin who spoke at the Opening General Session about her own personal perspective of current issues of our time. Also, more than a thousand of the world's leading developers, retailers, lenders and brokers exhibited at the convention.

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Wilson County Ranked No. 1 in Housing Growth

The 2009 U.S. Census figures released in April, 2010, show that from 2000 to 2009 that Wilson County grew by 26.5 percent.
In housing construction, Wilson has surpassed Rutherford to be the fastest growing county in the state and 29th in the nation.
The projections for Wilson County's population released June, 2009 by the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research and the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations are:

2000 – 88,8092020 – 136,792
2005 – 99,771 2025 – 146,324
2010 – 109,234 2030 – 155,930
2015 – 125,379

All of Nashville's "bedroom" counties are growing, but Wilson County's low tax rate, transportation infrastructure, schools, and other amenities were reasons given for its growth.

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Steves & Sons, Inc. Receives Workplace Safety Award

Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner James Neeley,
recently announced that Steves & Sons, Inc., located in Lebanon, was chosen to receive the SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) award.
Commissioner Neeley said, "Steves & Sons, Inc. shows a continued dedication to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace. "We are pleased to honor this fine company for their notable safety record." The SHARP Award was presented at the company's facility located at 301 Hartmann Drive in Lebanon.
The SHARP award, designed for employers with fewer than 250 workers in high-hazard industrial classifications, is one of the state's highest honors for workplace safety and health. The main incentive for participation in the SHARP award program is the desire by employers to promote a safe and healthy workplace. The program also allows employers to be removed from programmed compliance inspection lists for a period of 12 months.
Steves & Sons, Inc. was established in 1866, and currently employs 96 people. They manufacture interior wood doors. This is the first SHARP award the company has received.

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Aspen Dental Coming to Lebanon

Construction is underway for Aspen Dental's 3,200 square foot facility on South Cumberland St. next to Walgreens.
One of the largest and fastest-growing providers of denture and dental care services in the U.S., Aspen Dental practices are committed to providing patients with affordable, high-quality care under the Aspen Dental brand.
With more than 250 locations in 20 states, Aspen Dental practices offer patients a full range of denture and dental services, ranging from preventive care to general dentistry to restoration.

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Summit to Anchor Development
Bel Air West will locate at Beckwith Road and Interstate 40

Plans are underway for the development of a new 25,000 square foot, two-story medical office building, to be anchored by Summit Medical Center in Mt. Juliet, just off the recently completed Beckwith Road interchange of Interstate 40 in Wilson County.
Bel Air West Medical, a Class A medical office facility, is expected to be completed by the end of 2011 said the building's owner Phil Pace, who is a Nashville-based developer of medical properties, and founding partner and principal of Healthcare Development Associates.
The building will be partially leased by Summit but will also have medical office space available for physician offices and other professionals.
Jeff Browning, principal of Browning Companies, the developer of Bel Air West, the 45-acre, mixed-use development at the interchange, said, "we are certainly pleased to announce this type of facility as the first building to locate at this new interstate exit as well as in our development.  We believe this is just the beginning in attracting first-class corporate expansions and relocations to this immediate area.  We're very fortunate to have Summit lead the way in a new, state-of-the-art facility."
Construction of the building is expected to start later this year, with the Conseco Group as the general contractor.

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Deckers Launches First Restaurant in Lebanon

Ribbon cutting ceremonies and family activities, including prizes, give-a-ways, balloon artist, face painter, and live musical performances, were enjoyed throughout the day on July 10 launching the grand opening of a new restaurant concept called Deckers - the first anywhere in the United States. Deckers is located at 636 South Cumberland Street, under the same roof as the recently renovated White Castle restaurant.
You can order the new Deckers "Sassy Sandwiches Served Hot", or your White Castle long time favorites, such as the Original Slider that White Castle has been serving up since 1921. Both Deckers and White Castle are owned and operated by the same company – White Castle Systems, Inc., based in Columbus, Ohio.

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Watertown Celebrates the 4th of July

Watertown Mayor Mike Jennings, armed with his squirt gun, enjoys the parade.

July 4th activities started in Watertown on Friday night with the Doug Collins and Friends Benefit Concert with the donations going to fund programs for Watertown kids.
Saturday evening the annual Stars, Stripes and Squirt Guns parade was enjoyed by hundreds of spectators. Both parade participants and spectators were armed with their squirt guns for a fun time for all. Following the parade was a classic car cruise-in on the square with prizes and live music. Other contest included a "Retro Fashion" contest for the ladies, the "Best Greased Hair" contest for the men, and a hula-hoop competition for all ages. Political candidates participated in the parade and were on the town square talking to people about their qualifications for office. Topping the evening off was the annual Watertown fireworks display at the Three Forks Community Park.

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Two New Stores open in Prime Outlets - Lebanon

Ribbon cuttings were held June 17th for both Banana Republic and Ecko Unltd. at Prime Outlets- Lebanon.
The Banana Republic Factory Store offers stylish, versatile apparel and accessories for both men and women and is a destination for style and quality at affordable prices.
The Ecko Unltd. store offers trendsetting, street wear for men from designer/founder Marc Ecko. All brands in the store are from the Ecko family, which include Ecko Unltd, eckored and Marc Ecko Cut and Sew. An assortment of accessories is also offered to complete each outfit including hats, watches, shoes and Ecko's own Complex Magazine.

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Spotlight on Industry “Manheim Nashville” Auto Auction

Delivering innovative remarketing solutions to customers and the industry

In 2002 Manheim Nashville moved from Nashville to their new location at 8400 Eastgate Blvd. in Lebanon. Manheim Nashville has several buildings that total more than 200,000 square feet, sits on 263 acres, and employs more than 500.
Manheim Nashville is one of Manheim's 130 locations worldwide. Manheim was established more than 60 years ago as a wholesale vehicle auction operation. They are a significant global employer with more than 30,000 employees, and are the world's largest provider of vehicle remarketing services. In 2009, Manheim handled nearly 10 million used vehicles, facilitating transactions representing more than $50 billion in value. Manheim operates 76 locations in 34 states in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 49 locations outside the United States, 5 locations in Canada, and 1 Manheim DRIVE Center. The first and largest operation is in Manheim, Pennsylvania.

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Become Our Fan on Facebook!

The Joint Economic & Community Development Board of Wilson County has launched a Facebook Page and we’d like to invite you to become a fan. Visitors will discover features that include photos, discussion boards and links to news articles.