With nearly twenty communities applying, Perry County was one of just eight locations in Tennessee designated as a CREST Pilot Community by the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.

CREST stands for Creating a Rural Entrepreneurial System in Tennessee. Its mission is to transform rural communities through the adoption and growth of small business development strategies.

Perry County was accepted based on the application made by the local community development organization, VisionPerry.

Key elements of the application included the following categories of focus regarding the diversification of the local economy:

• Agriculture: Agricultural Co-Op, CSA’s, Agritourism, Holistic Products;
• Arts: Arts & Historic District, Arts Incubator, Community Branding;
• Tourism: Retail Development, Promoting Natural Resources;
• Retail Development: Entrepreneurial Workshop & Business Plan Development (through Columbia State), Identifying Leakage Categories & Dollars Lost, Organizing Festivals, and Buy Local Campaigns
• Manufacturing Retention & Development: Recruitment and Marketing of Manufacturing Businesses where they is a strategic advantage, Marketing manufacturing capabilities to emerging industries (i.e. Solar Technology);
• Online Economy & Freelancing Opportunities: Rural Sourcing instead of Outsourcing, Sophisticated Project Work, and Advanced Telecommuting Jobs.

VisionPerry will be meeting with officials from CREST tomorrow, Thursday, January 14, to agree on project goals and establish important process measurables.

Interested parties are encouraged to discuss your ideas with any local government leaders and the staff of the VisionPerry office at 200 East Main Street in Linden.