Vision, Cooperation Leads to Mt. Sterling’s Economic Success
business, construction, economic development, mt. sterling/montgomery county chamber of commerce,
Ten years ago‚ folks around Mt. Sterling secretly referred to their city as Mt. Starvation. The reason wasn’t much of a secret: The largest corporation had left town‚ and the unemployment rate had soared to more than 19.6 percent.
Today‚ the community has a new secret‚ the secret behind a phenomenal turnaround. In less than a decade‚ the community has attracted some 3‚600 jobs‚ and the unemployment rate has plunged to as low as 3.2 percent. Downtown is flourishing‚ retail is expanding‚ the service economy is growing and new subdivisions can’t be built fast enough.
The secret?
It all started in one meeting‚ with one man and one commitment‚ then it spread throughout the community. Let Mendi Goble‚ director of the Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce‚ explain.
“Ten years ago‚ our community had reached a low point‚” Goble recalls. “The leaders were all gathered together in a meeting‚ including Cliff Stilz‚ president of Traditional Bank. Cliff‚ a quiet‚ extremely successful businessman‚ stood up and said: ‘We’re either going to prosper or die. Our job is to be big enough to put aside our differences and make our community work. Are we ready to do it?’”
From that motivational moment‚ attitudes began to change. Slowly but surely‚ the community did as well.
City and county government joined forces to solve problems. An Industrial Authority was formed‚ and an economic development professional was brought in to run it and attract jobs to the community. The Chamber of Commerce‚ Industrial Authority and Main Street Program came under one roof and one philosophy - do whatever it takes to make the community prosper‚ regardless of whose idea it is or who gets the credit.
Before real success could be achieved‚ however‚ the all-for-one‚ one-for-all approach came under attack several times. It was a controversial path few communities had really taken. Most talked about working together‚ even boasted about their spirit of cooperation‚ but few really worked together. In reality in most places‚ each organization continued to protect its traditional role‚ and there was no common vision.
Not in Mt. Sterling.
“We all depend on each other‚” Goble says of the relationships today.
“We are all on the same page and not competing for members or attention. There is none of this ‘It’s my idea or I got to it first’ stuff. We don’t always agree‚ but we do what is best for our community and our county‚ and that is the goal‚ no matter what we think personally.”
Proof of that can be seen each Monday as Goble; Sandy Napper‚ executive director of the Industrial Authority; Gerald Atkinson‚ director of the Tourism Commission; and Lisa Browning‚ director of the Main Street Program‚ meet to discuss their plans‚ needs and ideas. It can also be seen in how goals are achieved‚ as everyone pitches in to make the project a success‚ regardless of who is in charge.
“It is amazing‚” Goble says‚ “and very rare. I have traveled to a lot of other communities in the past little while. You just don’t see this level of cooperation and teamwork. I am so proud that we have been able to put aside our differences and our politics. Teamwork truly is the secret to our success.”
Story by Debbie Gibson
Photo by Harrison McClary
