CENTRE — In just over a year of active operations, the Cherokee County Industrial Development Authority has made impressive strides towards fulfilling its mission of bringing new industry to the area, according to its director.

The Authority (CCIDA) was established last year by the Cherokee County Commission and features a full-time director along with an appointed board of directors representing each town and Commission district. Additional members include the county administrator and director of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce.

Since June 2009, the board has held a monthly public meeting at Gadsden State-Cherokee.

The Authority is funded by the county and several partners, including TDS Telecom, DeKalb-Cherokee Gas District, Gadsden State Community College, and Cherokee Electric. Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, has secured state funding for salaries and office space in cooperation with Gadsden State-Cherokee.

Last week, Economic Development Director Luanne Hayes revealed that a 30-acre industrial plot in Leesburg was among three finalists from Alabama chosen in February by a European automotive supplier that makes replica wood finish for luxury car interiors.

Hayes said when she learned about the project and that the company was looking for a centralized location in the southeastern U.S., she knew Leesburg met all the criteria.

“We submitted to the Alabama Development Office in February and heard back in April,” she said. “We learned that out of 21 submittals from Alabama, three were selected by the company to make a presentation in Atlanta and we were one of them.”

At that point, Hayes set about compiling the reams of economic and demographic information necessary to try and lure the $45 million investment to Cherokee County.

“We met with the County Commission, our legislators, all the local utilities and many others, all of whom gave us everything we needed in order to get ready for the presentation,” Hayes said. “We even brought in bankers and lawyers to assist with setting up the financing and incentives.”

Hayes worked with Red Sage Communications, the Huntsville-based company that developed the Authority's new website (www.cherokeecountyida.org) to create a PowerPoint presentation. For the trip to Atlanta she took along Leesburg Mayor Ed Mackey, as well as a TVA representative to answer any questions about the county's recently updated electrical infrastructure.

Hayes said the three of them met the night before to prepare and rehearse every aspect of their presentation.

“I like things to run like a tight ship,” Hayes said. “By the time we got there, we knew every handshake, every point of eye contact – everything to make it go as planned.”

All 12 finalists – three each from Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina – first received an overview from the company and then began their individual presentations. Hayes said she and Mackey received several compliments after their turn at the podium.

“We felt good about the presentation,” she said. “And our TVA representative, who has been through hundreds of them, said he would not have done one thing differently.”

Hayes was recently informed that the Leesburg site is no longer in the running for the plant, which would have employed around 450 people. She said it is still too soon to publicly identify the company, which is still considering other sites in Alabama and elsewhere.

Despite the disappointment of being eliminated, Hayes said she learned a lot from the experience and will be even better prepared when the next opportunity – which, given current circumstances, could quite possibly be an automotive supplier – comes along.

“Right now, automotive is hot in Alabama,” she said. “Ever since Volkswagen announced their new plant, we've been aware that we are within the desired radius for potential suppliers. We're fairly close to the Interstate, we have great quality of life with Weiss Lake and Cherokee Rock Village – those are all things that companies are looking for and we are poised to take advantage.”

Hayes said some of the CCIDA's limitations include that I-59 is not even closer, a scarcity of industrially viable land (Leesburg has the only suitable location in the county, at present), and the absence of a working railway.

“We'll be discussing and planning ways to overcome those obstacles as we go along,” Hayes said. “We've learned that we can be competitive, that we can come to the table as well as any other community in the state.”

Hayes, who previously spent 23 years involved in economic development efforts in Guntersville, said residents here should feel good about the Authority's progress so far. Still, she cautioned that the kind of success she seeks is typically measure in years, not months.

“It just takes time,” she said. “We'll hit on something. We just have to stay after it.”

In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that Wright is the town of Cedar Bluff's representative on the Cherokee County IDA.