Common courtesy a valuable tool for business recruiting

Kirksville, Mo., a town where I previously worked, boasts the slogan “Where People Make a Difference.”

The town had a competition to come up with the new slogan and I always thought the one they chose was a little goofy.

Where people make a difference? Who else would make a difference? Gerbils?

Little did I know it would take me moving to Red Oak to fully appreciate that slogan and its appropriateness.

Its been my pleasure the last couple weeks to interview a couple other Red Oak transplants, Earl and Cynthia Bangston and Karen Rodriguez.

The Bangstons and Rodriguez have something in common: they have both invested their own money into Red Oak (specifically downtown) while expanding their businesses here.

We have all heard the doom and gloom about how tough the economy is right now and how the private sector is shrinking and not expanding.

With that in mind, I asked both the Bangstons and Rodriguez what exactly attracted them to Red Oak. Why did they decide to invest their money here instead of the billion other small towns in America?

They each had their own answers specific to their projects, but there was a common answer from both that jumped out to me and that was the support they received from the community.

Their answer puzzled me. I was under the impression 99 percent of communities would salivate and bend over backwards to accomodate anyone wanting to invest in their town during this economy.

Apparently, that isn’t the case.

From greedy real estate agents to overregulating city governments, apparently there are elements in several communities that are creating a less than hospitable environment for new business.

But not here in Red Oak.

It seems odd for me to be praising individuals for seemingly doing their jobs, but at this juncture, it seems very warranted.

People like City Administrator Brad Wright, Chamber and Industry Association Director Darrell Steven Carlyle, local property manager Audie Rainey and Mr. Red Oak himself, George Maher, have all been mentioned individually as helping these investors, well, invest in Red Oak.

That certainly isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list in the least, but merely a sampling of those in town who work on a daily basis in the neverending battle of improving the local economy. I have no doubt there are scores more behind the scenes doing their part as well to make sure Red Oak is always putting its best foot forward to prospective investors.

At this rate, I may have to seriously suggest modifying the city’s slogan to “Where People Make It a Shade Better.”

Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com.