'Impact Kingsport' challenges retirees to help city recruit
KINGSPORT — Calling all recently retired professionals and engineers: The city of Kingsport needs your help.
Speaking to the Kingsport Kiwanis Club on Friday, Kingsport Chief Service Officer Clarence “Bunky” Seay unveiled a plan called “Impact Kingsport,” issuing a challenge for recent professional retirees and other interested parties to step up to the plate to help Kingsport bolster its economic recruiting efforts.
Seay, who was appointed in September by Mayor Dennis Phillips to serve as chief service officer, presented a 19-page report outlining strategies and impact metrics that will guide and gauge the upcoming volunteer effort.
“Over the past five years, three of Kingsport’s largest employers — Eastman Chemical Company, American Glass Company and Domtar Paper Mill — have seen over 1,300 individuals retire,” Seay noted from the report. “Available data suggests that more than 200 highly educated recent retirees from the past few years are residing in the area. By linking qualified volunteers with interested companies, it is anticipated that Kingsport will have a competitive advantage in recruiting new businesses or assisting in the expansion of existing businesses.”
Seay, a retired engineer from Eastman, noted that the basis of such volunteer service will be short term, with a major potential impact.
“We are primarily interested at this time in retired engineers and business executives who would like to be involved,” Seay said. “It would require a minimum amount of time and be on an ‘as needed’ basis. As a situation develops with a potential new or existing business, you would be contacted and invited to participate in meetings with our economic development staff and/or discussions with the prospective company.”
Seay noted that Kingsport’s higher education initiative, which has resulted in a number of industry-specific programs being offered in the Academic Village in downtown Kingsport, helps ensure that the city has a pool of competent, educated workers for area employers.
“Our economic development staff work successfully with a broad array of industries but do not always have detailed knowledge about a specific product or processes, as well as manufacturing suppliers and customers who would be logical recruiting opportunities for Kingsport,” Seay said. “This is where the volunteer comes into play. The purpose will be to use their personal knowledge, friendships, contacts and business knowledge to promote Kingsport as a location for the particular business.”
The initiative is designed to support existing economic development initiatives, including efforts by NETWORKS — Sullivan Partnership and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
In particular, the tapping of key volunteers to impact economic development is designed to dovetail with Gov. Bill Haslam’s new Jobs4TN economic development strategy, focusing on six key business clusters where Tennessee has substantial competitive advantages, while also strengthening the recruitment process and leveraging the ability of existing industries to lead the state in job creation.
The chief service officer is a volunteer position and part of the Cities of Service program. In Kingsport, the effort is also supported by AARP.
Anyone with an interest in helping the project should contact Seay at BunkySeay@kingsporttn.gov or call the city’s main phone number at 229-9400 and ask for Jeanette Scalf or Morris Baker.
To comment, you must register and verify your email address by telephone.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the registered user participating in online discussions. You agree not to post comments off topic, abusive, obscene, defamatory, vulgar, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned.
Browse Premiere Local Businesses
