The 8th Annual Rural American South Edition

Sponsors

Alabama: Alagasco (www.alagasco.com), Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (www.edpa.org), Alabama Power (www.southernco.com/alpower)
Arkansas: Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas (www.aecc.com)
Florida: Progress Energy (www.progress-energy.com)
Mississippi: Mississippi Development Authority (www.mississippi.org)
North Carolina: Progress Energy (www.progress-energy.com)
South Carolina: Progress Energy (www.progress-energy.com), Santee Cooper (www.santeecooper.com)
Virginia: Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (www.odec-ed.com)

Introduction

Despite more than three decades of record economic expansion and unprecedented prosperity, the American South remains home to many states facing the special challenges associated with the attraction of new jobs and investment to rural and economically distressed communities. These rural communities were the targets of the very first organized economic development initiatives in the nation and remain the very essence behind those efforts -- improving quality of life through the creation of jobs and the generation of capital investment.

Each year in the fall editon of Southern Business & Development, we provide you unique and special location opportunities in the rural American South. It is aptly titled the Rural American South edition and its purpose is to outline the advantages and special incentives available to businesses locating in the rural South.

Every rural county or town in the South has a story to tell. The problem more often than not is that rural Southern towns and counties don't have the budget to tell their story to site searching companies. That's where our sponsors come in. Their sponsorship dollars have made this issue possible. And each year the Rural American South edition is designed so that you may be exposed to site search options and alternatives that you may not know exist.

There is no more sense of community than those you'll find in the rural South. You will not find a better work ethic anywhere else in the world than what you can find in the South's rural regions.

So we invite you to view the following pages outlining many of the advantages of operating a business in the rural South. If you need more information about rural sites and opportunities in the American South, call Mike Randle, publisher, at 205-733-1970 or e-mail him at mike@sb-d.com.