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Jonesboro Economic Development Commission launches 5-year economic development plan

Jonesboro Unlimited and the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce

The Jonesboro Economic Development Commission is launching a strategic plan with the goal of bringing more jobs to the region.  Over two-thousand residents participated in surveys and focus groups as part of a five-month study conducted by Avalanche Consulting, Inc. of Austin, Texas.  President and CEO of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce Mark Young tells why this was necessary.

“We are excited about the plan.  As we move forward, it is important for us to have a plan in place as we continue to grow this plan from an economic standpoint.”

The goals of the plan are three-tiered; investing in the Jonesboro product, telling Jonesboro’s story, and organizing for action.  The action plan will take place over the next five years, and include the need for infrastructure improvements, workforce training and development, a comprehensive marketing campaign, and developing a competitive economic program that will create, attract, and retain high-paying jobs.  President and CEO of Avalanche Consulting is Amy Holloway.  She says the need for higher paying jobs is a priority.

“Jonesboro is doing some great things, but there are still some challenges that Jonesboro faces. 1 in 5 residents in Jonesboro are below the poverty line and the average wages for Jonesboro are still about $12,000 below the national average.  Jonesboro is doing some amazing things, but there are still some things to do in the future.  That is where the three goals come in, and also the need for more workforce training.”

She tells what else Jonesboro should do.

“Jonesboro needs to do a much better job of telling its story.  Jonesboro should be doing all it can to tell people what a great community this is and why people should come here to work and live.  A comprehensive marketing plan is a major component of this plan.”

The study offers recommendations around topics that are critical to Jonesboro’s economic development success, such as industrial property, quality of life, branding, education and workforce and infrastructure.  The target industries and niche sectors in the plan are agribusiness (agriculture production, chemical production, agricultural research), health care (physician and other medical professional offices and biomedical research) , logistics (truck transportation and warehousing), manufacturing (food processing, machinery manufacturing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing), and professional services (accounting, engineering, and information technology).  You can view the plan here.   

Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.