City of Gleason, Tennessee: Ball clay capital of the world

Area Newspapers

Welcome to Gleason, Tennessee - - - Tater Town USA!

Located in the heart of Small Town America, Gleason, Tennessee is a community known for its friendly people, southern hospitality, and its "business friendly" atmosphere. We would be delighted if you could drop by for a visit if you are passing through or contact us at City Hall if you have thought about making Gleason the home base for your business.

Mayor: Jack Dunning

Aldermen: Jerry Connell, Richard Horn, Mike Morris, Diana Poole

City Recorder: Tony Terrell

Fire and Police Department

(731) 648-5547

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Moore Named Weakley Countain of the Year

(Doyle Sims and Sons Trucking Inc in Gleason Receives Small Business of the Year Award)

Sara Reid, Staff Writer, Weakley County Press

The sixth annual Weakley County Chamber of Commerce's President's Banquet, held this past Tuesday night, brought members of the community together to honor this year's outstanding businesses and citizens of Weakley County.

"In the past 11 months the Chamber has survived a fire and three relocations and we've gone through three administrative assistants," Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Barbara Virgin said.

"In the last 18 months, we have gotten over 120 new members and we have averaged handing out over 15 newcomer packets a month. People have come from California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Minnesota and Michigan. Weakley County is on the map. Everyone is aware of it. The chamber unites the community by working toward a common goal. We work closely with the members of the community."

This year's president of the chamber of commerce, Doug Obetz, welcomed in the new 2007-2008 president Joe Brasher.

"The president rotates from city to city," Brasher explained. "Doug represented Dresden well. This banquet is called the President's Banquet and it reflects all the leadership of the president. It is truly the president's banquet."

As the recognition got underway, two groups of graduates were spotlighted, the graduates of the First State Bank Youth Leadership Class and the graduates of the Leadership Weakley County Class. Youth Leadership graduates included Kelby Galey, Erica Glisson, Ashley Grimes, Laura Gullett, Blake Hooten, Suji Jeong, Sydney Kincer, Brandy Lassiter, Kayla Lusby, Marlee Mason, Natalie Medling, Britt Morgan, Evan Orr, Hannah Rawls, Cori Robbins, Kayla Simpson, Katie Snider, Brada Taylor, Teala Terrell and Hunter Trevathan. The class project for the year involved school swapping for the day and according to class chairperson Brandy Lassiter of Dresden High School, the project served as a way of giving students a new perspective about the different schools in Weakley County.

Leadership Weakley County graduates included Lesia Ary, Jake Bynum, Russell Cherry, Katrina Cobb, Rusty Darby, Dusty Gibson, Karami Hagan, Todd Hampton, Sue Lasky, Joey Melhorn, Michelle Siler, Eric Simmons, Lisha Tuck, Jerry Wilson and Alice Ann Yeargin. Class chairman Todd Hampton explained that the class project had been to promote Weakley County as a retirement community and, in the process, a Web site is being formed which will help this idea along. Though it's still very much a work in progress, the address will be www.besttnretirement.com.

The first award of the night was the Youth Achievement Award and it was given to Dresden High School senior Cody Perkins. Perkins was nominated by two people. He is involved in various school clubs, won several agriculture awards, was a member of the Youth Leadership class of 2004-2005, is in the Top Ten of his class, is in the Tennessee Scholars program, was voted Most Likely to Succeed and won the D.A.R. Good Citizen award.

The award for Small Business of the Year went to Doyle Sims and Sons Trucking Inc in Gleason. The company got its start servicing the dairy farmers of the area and now it provides trucks for the clay companies. Now in the third generation of workers, the company lends support to various national and local organizations and schools including M.A.D.D., the Reading Railroad, Gleason School, Gleason Park and Sharon Park.

Weakley Countian of the Year was awarded to general sessions judge Tommy Moore.

"He is involved in his church and holds a public office. He is very involved in the community and supports the youth. He is a talented musician, a great humanitarian and is involved in Habitat for Humanity," Bud Grimes, emcee of the banquet, said.

Last year's winner of the award, University of Tennessee at Martin chancellor Nick Dunagan, continued with Moore's introduction. "He has been general sessions judge since 1990 and has been recognized for his drug court initiative. He is a researcher extraordinaire, serves on many boards and is very dedicated to the field of missions having gone to Honduras six times," Dunagan said.

"It really takes the best in each of us to bring out the best in all of us," Moore said. "Thanks for helping a nice guy not finish last." Source: Weakley County Press.

Four years ago, under the direction of then Gleason Rotary Club President, Kenneth Byrd, construction began on the club’s centennial project- The Gleason Community Building. Without the hard work and dedication of the club and the community through donations of time, talent and money, this community building would not be possible. The Gleason Rotary Club wishes to thank Cary Lehmkuhl and Ronnie and Martha Ann Arnold for their contributions toward this project.

Cary Lehmkuhl, owner of Lehmkuhl Construction, has given generously of his time and skills on the construction of the new building. The club wants to publicly thank Cary and his crew for their work on the Rotary Project.

Ronnie and Martha donate their time and talents each year to the Rotary Club’s annual fundraiser, the Great Pretenders, held each Labor Day weekend. This year the proceeds from the annual event went toward the building fund for the Community Center project. Ronnie and Martha produce a wonderful show each year with the help of the people of the community.

The Rotary Club project for a Community Building to benefit the entire community could not have happened without the support of the ones highlighted here as well as countless others who have contributed to the project. This is just the first in a series of articles which will be recognizing the countless volunteers who are making this project a reality.

Pictured Standing: Edgar Floyd, Charles Bookout, Delois Shaw, Cil Weddington, Debbie Byrd, Jacky Esch, Les McElhiney, Jack Dunning, Jerry Esch, Ray Dean Verdell, Bob Wray, Joe Stewart, Angela McElhiney-Hunt Seated: Kenneth Byrd, Martha Ann Arnold, Ronnie Arnold, Cary Lehmkuhl

Cities, County Join to Attract Jobs and Improve Quality of Life for Residents

MARTIN, Tenn. - A newly established board in Weakley County is getting aggressive about finding quality jobs for local residents.

Dresden, Gleason, Greenfield, Martin and Sharon and Weakley County governments created the Weakley County Economic Development Board to pool assets and pursue commercial and industrial growth and expansion of existing firms.

"This effort can and will bring together Weakley Countians working toward a common goal," said Andy Page, board member.

Jimmy Westbrook, board chairman, agreed, "All cities and the county will benefit from new industries or businesses locating anywhere in the county."

Martin Mayor Randy Brundige, who also serves as a board member, added, "Another objective of the board is to secure regional partnerships in order to make our entire region attractive to prospective business and industry."

New board members representing the county and cities "have diverse skills, education and resources," said Dresden Mayor Danny Forrester. "We have a university chancellor, a chief executive officer of a multi-county bank, a manager of Northwest Tennessee Development District, a certified public accountant, a retired government financial manager and manufacturing managers," added Page. "The strength this board brings to the table is a vast amount of knowledge regarding jobs."

Currently, the board is drafting a budget with the governmental entities to contribute funding based on percentage of county population.

"If the governments fund their share to secure long-term stability, and we lead with the proper attitude, funding will be in place," said Forrester. He noted that in a rural county it makes good sense to combine financial and other assets to have a greater impact on economic development.

One of the first tasks facing the board in the next several months is to hire a professional recruiter with the skills to create a more aggressive economic development program. In turn, creating that program will key on finding the county's "niche" in industrial recruitment.

"Job recruitment is very competitive. We must find a niche and put together a good marketing plan to promote our assets, starting with our greatest asset - the University of Tennessee at Martin," said Page.

Westbrook agreed that defining the county's strengths and going after industries that are a good fit, are crucial elements to the county's future. "The shotgun approach, trying to be all things to all industries, is probably not a good idea," he said.

"The last major industry to locate in Weakley County was in 1995," said Page. "The population decreased an estimated 687, or 2 percent, from 2000-2002, and we've lost more than 3,000 industrial jobs since 1991." He added that school enrollment has been impacted, with the county losing 158 students, or 3 percent, in the 1990s. "What we've been doing isn't working. It's time to change our approach and start working collectively as a county."

John Bucy, board vice chairman, echoed that defining priorities will be an early task. "Overall, attracting new investment will be an important component . . . but such factors as graduation rates, education and skill levels of the workforce, a competitive business environment (including incentives) and availability of sites with infrastructure . . . each play a key part, and, on any given day, may be the highest priority (of a prospective industry)."

As the board members define, prioritize and fund economic development in the county, Westbrook is quick to point out there are no quick fixes. "This is not something that will happen overnight."

Page added, "Leaders throughout Weakley County are working hard to pursue economic growth. Now, a vehicle is in place to market our assets with a realistic, effective and centralized approach."

Explaining the groundwork for the interlocal agreement, Brundige said, "In early 2003, all the mayors began regular meetings to discuss bringing each city and the county together in a unified effort. Unifying our county was apparent if we were to move forward. The old saying "us against them" must be a thing of the past. The new thought that must be instilled is that we are in this together for our future."

US BioTec Begins Field Testing of Product to Fight Asian Rust Disease in Soybean

US BioTec, Inc.: Production Set to Begin

US BioTec Moves Corporate Headquarters to Gleason

...we began researching locations [that offered] available office and functional manufacturing space with plenty of room for expansion, raw land that can accommodate our future growth, a plentiful, skilled workforce, easy access to major interstates, flexible lease terms, and a favorable tax plan.

We researched the most appealing sites in a wide area and decided to locate the corporate offices ... and its trucking subsidiary, Tel Star Corp. in Gleason, TN. - Jimmy Joyner, CEO, US BioTec, Inc.