“I’m gonna smoke cigars, I’m gonna drink whiskey, and I’m gonna talk nasty.”
That’s how Joe Max Higgins introduced himself to an audience of more than 600 career tech teachers about ten years ago. Those were the first words he said after he leaned into the microphone and said, “Ya’ll need to listen to this s*** because I’m going to say things you need to know.”
I looked to my right and saw a lady literally clutching her pearls. I’d heard that expression all my life but had never actually seen it done. She was bug eyed, pale, and looked to be in the early stages of a case of the vapors. Five minutes later, she was nodding in agreement and taking notes.
That was the day Joe Max Higgins convinced me of the value of an effective lobbyist. At that time, he was head of economic development for the Golden Triangle region of Mississippi. When Joe Max got there, Golden Triangle was a fancy name for a run down, poverty infested area between West Point, Columbus, and Starkville with unemployment rates as high as 20%. He was proud to tell about all the things his office had done and was working on.
Joe Max told one story about sitting in a lounge chair, smoking a $100 Cuban cigar and drinking 40 year old Scotch whisky in Princess Diana’s rose garden, “all paid for by YOUR tax dollars.” After a pause, he whispered into the microphone, “And that’s the night I shook hands on a deal to bring Yokohama Tire and 2000 new factory jobs to West Point.”
That’s the moment I decided that I’d love for my tax money to be paying his $250,000 annual salary, along with the tab for his first class airline tickets, Cuban cigars, and Scotch whisky if he could swing that kind of deal for my county. In all honesty, I’d call it a bargain to get that kind of return on that kind of economic development investment.
We haven’t heard of anything like that from the Tate County Economic Development folks. In fact, we don’t really hear much of anything from the TCEDF about what it does. The county supervisors and Senatobia council members recently questioned where the tax money they give to the EDF goes. From what I hear they didn’t get much of an answer and the economic development board took some sort of action.
I have to say “from what I hear” because there’s not much in the way of public communication from or about the TCEDF about much of anything. Notably, there hasn’t been any sort of public statement, but Britt Herrin’s name is no longer listed on the TCEDF website.
I also have questions about the Tate County part of the Economic Development Foundation.
Can anyone recall a TCEDF event out in the county, maybe supporting the growing businesses in Coldwater, Independence, or Strayhorn? Anything in Greenleaf, Wyatte, Looxahoma, or Poagville? Any big announcement about new jobs or new businesses or any other TCEDF excitement around Arkabutla?
Mayor Billingsley just announced that his town would be getting a sizable grant from MDOT for work in downtown Coldwater. Has TCEDF announced anything comparable arising from its efforts?
Aside from the Five Star City festival and a couple of shopping events in downtown Senatobia, what exactly does the TCEDF do with the tax money it gets from the county, Coldwater, and Senatobia?
Golden Triangle was paying one man a quarter of a million plus expenses. I’d say they got their money’s worth. Tate County is paying a lot less, and getting, what?
Maybe we should spend more on cigars and whisky.
