DAYTON, Tenn. – Do more marketing of Rhea County. Increase cooperation between the community’s businesses and government. Attract retirees. Recruit and retain retail businesses.
Those were some of the goals brought up by nearly 30 Rhea County leaders attending a meeting Tuesday of the Rhea Economic and Tourism Council.
It was the first meeting headed by the council’s new executive director, John Payne, who took over after Raymond Walker resigned in December. Under Walker, recruiting and retaining industries was the main focus of the council, not marketing.
The “key is putting the plan together and implementing it” along with weighing the costs to accomplish the goals, Payne said after the session.
Millie Callaway, community development consultant for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which operates the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City, Tenn., described the meeting as “setting the table … for future priorities and impact.”