This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 12:43 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Tradition, Progressive Ideas Enhance Danville’s Quality of Life
Jeannette Davis rolled into Danville 15 years ago‚ eager to relocate her New York-based company to the Central Kentucky city.
She sat down to discuss the move with John Hill Bailey‚ of the Boyle County Industrial Foundation.
“ He asked me three questions‚”Davis recalls. “Did my company have labor problems? Did it have financial problems? And did it in any way harm the environment?
“ At first‚ I was taken aback a little bit‚ and then in about five seconds I realized they really cared about their community.”
Though Danville has changed since Davis and AdMart International arrived‚ it continues to care. A Southern charmer with a steel magnolia mentality‚ the city is both progressive and protective.
The latest example is Danville’s successful effort to keep its U.S. post office downtown.
Though some thought the post office should be moved to the city’s outskirts‚ members of the Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce‚ Heart of Danville and Boyle County Community Development Council realized that would be a deadly blow to downtown and worked together to keep it there.
“ If you want to maintain a viable downtown‚ you have to have certain economic anchors‚” says Bill Mitchell‚ the development council’s executive director. “A U.S. post office is a great anchor because it generates commerce and activity.”
In Boyle County‚ leaders look for more than jobs; they seek companies that bring ideas and innovation to the community.
The community protects and promotes its history and culture‚ making tourism a vital addition to the economy. Its Great American Brass Band Festival‚ for example‚ brings more than 40‚000 people to Danville each summer.
Danville guards its downtown‚ its historic districts and its environment.
“ The community takes wonderful steps going forward‚ but as much as it is going forward‚ it is holding on to its past‚” Davis says.
Mitchell agrees: “The reason Danville is Danville is that people have vision and pursue that vision.”
The students and faculty at Centre College are an invigorating force. The city’s strong industrial base also plays a vital role‚ says John Caywood‚ a Danville native and executive vice president of Heritage Community Bank.
“ Those companies have brought in management people with new ideas and expectations‚’’ Caywood says. “That mix of old Danville and new Danville has raised the bar‚ as far as standards for the quality of life.”
The result is a town far different from many in Kentucky‚ says Steve Rinehart‚ human resources facilitator for R.R. Donnelly & Sons.
“ Danville is uncharacteristic of most county seat towns in Kentucky‚” Rinehart says. “It has an outlook on things that is not homegrown.”
The vital economic climate‚ with corporate transfers in and out of the community‚ provides “a pool of talent that is constantly refreshed by the people coming in‚” Rinehart says.
Ron Jackson moved his product development and marketing company‚ The Kentucky Idea Farm‚ to Danville four years ago.
His children‚ ages 6 and 3‚ love their schools‚ and Jackson enjoys the historic house he and his family now call home. Jackson and his wife‚ Martha‚ have gotten involved in everything from church to the Chamber of Commerce.
“ A couple of people told us‚ ‘Oh‚ that’s an old community; it will take you years to get to know people‚’ ” Jackson says. “That is totally not true.
“ In Danville‚ newcomers quickly become recruited for civic duties‚” Jackson says.
“ I can tell you honestly‚” he adds‚ “this is the best decision we ever made. It is always such a delight to come back to Danville. You watch the decades roll back‚ and you end up in a Norman Rockwell painting.”
