Being poor and rural is often reason enough for many communities to sing the Blues. The birthplace of Charley Patton, better known as the "Father of the Delta Blues," and current home to B.B. King, one of the finest Blues guitarists ever, Indianola, Mississippi and Sunflower County have that rich Blues tradition.

But these Deep South communities refuse to stay mired in their Bluesy pasts, and have found reason in Dollar General Stores to rise above the dissonant refrain.

There is no argument that Indianola, Miss. (pop. 12,000) is a distressed community, with a per capita income 24 percent less than the state average, and 45 percent below the U.S. average. Thirty percent of its residents fall below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But this community in Mississippi's top agricultural county found it has things in common with its top private sector employer, Dollar General Stores.

Dollar General is a Fortune 500 company that runs nearly 7,700 discount retail stores in 31 states. The retail locations serve primarily low- to moderate-income families, but the company's business model also attracts higher income shoppers who love bargains.

In 1997, Dollar General chose Indianola for one of its regional distribution centers, a massive 845,000 square foot facility with 470 employees and 30 acres of parking. The center originally served about 900 Dollar General stores, but in 2005 it earned a 130-job expansion and now supplies nearly 1,000 retail stores in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas. The Indianola facility now operates essentially 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and employs 600 workers, the majority of whom come from Indianola and Sunflower County.

Roy Sandifer, the plant manager of the Indianola Dollar General Distribution Center, said Dollar General has a history of building in under-served communities by offering accessible stores and jobs. The people who work at the facility are also the people who shop at the stores.

"In many ways, Indianola reflects the history of our company," Sandifer said. "Our primary customer is low- to moderate-income, so our facilities are primarily based in low- to moderate-income communities."

Sandifer said on a regular basis he fights the myth that to be poor, Southern and rural means to be unproductive or unskilled. He said his facility earned the expansion through hard work, loyalty, and dedication to corporate mission.

"There is a misconception of skill levels and work ethics in certain regions, but I'll put our employees in Indianola up against any other employees in America. This is a very proud, traditional community, a family-oriented community with an excellent work ethic," Sandifer said. "The dedication of our employees is one reason for our success, and it has resulted in the facility's recent expansion."

Tim Climer, Sunflower County Economic Development Director, said Indianola had the right combination of location, workforce and attitude that combined to make it the winner of the project. The city is at the junction of U.S. 82 and U.S. 49 West, giving it four-lane access in three directions, through Jackson, Miss. and down to the Gulf Coast, some 250 miles away.

"We're at the crossroads of the Mississippi Delta, so we were blessed with the location," Climer said. "But we also had the quality workforce Dollar general needed, and we're a pro-business community that Dollar General knew it could count on."

And the employees, said Sandifer, have learned they can count on Dollar General.

"Dollar General has made a very strong commitment to its employees, and the result is our employees reward the company with effort and loyalty," Sandifer said. He added that he has never had a problem finding the skilled workers he needs, with about six applicants for every available job.

Being poor and rural in the Deep South is not exactly the kind of thing a community advertises. But it's also not necessarily an insurmountable obstacle to success.

Singing the Blues will never go out of style in Indianola. Indeed, the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center is under construction in Indianola to celebrate those deep roots. But the community is currently humming happier tunes as well, thanks to its mutually beneficial partnership with Dollar General Stores.