ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 31, 1996 TAG: 9610310024
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
JESS WHITE JR. said the region needs to nurture entrepreneurs, not court big industries.
Appalachia's chief economic developer said Wednesday the region should scale back industrial recruiting in favor of producing home-grown jobs.
Industrial recruiting is the most visible part of development programs in the Roanoke Valley, but Jess White Jr. said communities should put more faith in entrepreneurs.
White is co-chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, D.C., appointed by President Clinton. The agency doles out federal aid to parts of 13 Eastern states, including areas of Virginia, which were bypassed by the national highway system in the 1960s and have fallen behind the nation in wealth and education.
During a stop in Roanoke, White had lunch with the agency's field troops. He reminded them of the agency's commitment to building highways, upgrading phone and computer systems, training leaders and encouraging global trade.
In an interview, White said he also wants to go beyond the traditional programs by encouraging more business start-ups. That's why $2.1 million will be spent this fiscal year to motivate and train people to start companies, he said. That will come out of $160 million earmarked in 1996-97 to help the region's 20 million people.
It's too soon to know how Western Virginia may benefit, because Gov. George Allen cannot propose any concrete steps until early next year. Twenty-one Virginia counties are in the agency's territory, including Botetourt, Alleghany, Bath, Craig, Floyd, Giles and Pulaski.
"The old model of economic development was that the jobs are `out there somewhere' and we have to go get them and bring them in to our people," White said. "We offer tax incentives and we offer all sorts of goodies to get a branch plant to come into our community.
"What we've ignored in the process is the whole equation of, what does it take to foster home-grown companies?
"If I had two communities, one of which announced a branch plant with 300 workers [and] a community that has 30 companies, each of which is adding 10 new jobs, the second scenario's a much healthier economy."
White wants less effort put toward luring industry jobs and even whole companies from someplace else.
Out-of-town companies can be a source of jobs, but it ships the profits to headquarters, he said. How long the plant stays open and how many people it employs are subject to outside control.
On the other hand, a home-grown business is likely to bank its profits and be managed in the community, White said.
A Roanoke economic developer said Roanoke Valley communities appear to understand the need to both recruit industry and stimulate home-grown businesses. The region is dotted with small-business help centers, including the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce and one at Radford University, said Beth Doughty, executive director of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership.
"We're certainly not ignoring entrepreneurs," Doughty said.
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