I was at the Comcast conference at the Shoals Marriott the past two days. I had no idea how awesome that place was and how beneficial it can be to the area until I got there. The staff was awesome, the hotel was better than I've seen in major cities, and the campus was beautiful. It takes a lot of skilled people to operate that facility, that means jobs. Having something like that is also a good incentive to attract more companies to move to the area. Corporate people love conferences. If the Chamber of Commerce can promote the Shoals Marriott properly, it can be the key to attracting more industry.
Aside from that, after I finished Wednesday night I went out to see some old friends. The Shoals has changed very little. I don't see things as getting worse, but I don't see rapid improvement. I talked to a lot of people from my office who have never been to the Shoals, first impressions were all positive. It seems like it would be pretty simple to lure some companies down, but to do that would mean Florence would grow and the old politicians wouldn't like that. The Shoals simply needs some new blood in leadership that has ventured outside of the area and knows just how prosperous it could be.
It was funny explaining things to people here. First, I had to explain that the Shoals Marriott wasn't in Muscle Shoals, it's in Florence. Then I gave a few people good directions to get there. My boss got there 10 minutes before her boss, and he left before she did. It's always good when your bosses feel like you gave them some inside info.