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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.
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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
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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.
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"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." |
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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.

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