Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the Ayers Foundation Trust announced this week the launch of a new collaborative statewide initiative to improve the economic prospects of rural Tennessee.
The initiative, called Come Home Tennessee, aims to reduce the number of economically distressed and at-risk counties in the state by providing the highly qualified graduates of the well-acclaimed Ayers Scholars Program and other Tennesseans with connections to regional employers and remote employment options that allow them to stay or return to their hometowns to live, work, and raise their families if they so choose.
The Ayers Foundation Trust is a driving force in rural Tennessee and claims to raise the standard of living for its citizens. The trust, which Jim and Janet Ayers established in 1999, focuses primarily on education, conservation, and social welfare. The Ayers Scholars Program has given numerous students the opportunity to continue post-secondary education, giving them the skills necessary for success in the workforce.
According to Governor Lee, this initiative will allow students in Tennessee communities to succeed, return home, and live in their rural counties.
“Rural Tennessee is something that really matters to me, and it has mattered since I came into office. I grew up in rural Tennessee and I know what happens in rural Tennessee matters to every Tennessean. We began investing in rural Tennessee as soon as we came in,” Lee said.
According to Janet Ayers, president of the Ayers Foundation Trust, she wants to create a rural revival in Tennessee.
“At the Ayers Foundation Trust, we are creating a rural revival in Tennessee. Over the last 24 years, we have been incredibly successful at getting our rural students to post secondary and ensuring they have the support they need to graduate. But if there are not enough job opportunities in our hometowns, then many of those graduates are forced to leave to find a good-paying job elsewhere and they may never come back. We are determined to change that,” Ayers said.
The Ayers Scholars Program is a well-known college access and counseling program currently used in 33 high schools in 21 rural Tennessee counties and reports producing excellent results for students.
Come Home Tennessee aims to actively work to attract employers, businesses, and remote job possibilities to rural counties, linking them with Ayers Scholars graduates and other Tennesseans. Come Home Tennessee will draw on a skilled talent pool of over 17,000 Ayers Scholars graduates.
According to Burton Williams, CEO of the Ayers Foundation Trust, this initiative will enable them to help even more rural communities throughout the state.
“Thanks to the incredible support of Governor Bill Lee and the state legislature, we are now helping more rural communities than ever before in all three grand divisions of our state. Come Home Tennessee takes our work to an even higher level by launching one of the largest workforce and economic development projects in the history of the state,” Williams said.
The Ayers Foundation Trust also officially opened the Ayers Entrepreneur Center, a new regional co-working facility in Parsons, Tennessee. The Ayers Entrepreneur Center will support the Come Home Tennessee initiative in rural West Tennessee, with local partners already working out of the hub, including the Decatur County Chamber of Commerce, a new TCAT Crump LPN program, Mendota Insurance, and L.I. Smith & Associates.
According to Shannon Haynes, chief prosperity officer of the Ayers Foundation Trust, it thrills her to see so many employers and partners already embracing the Ayers Entrepreneur Center.
“We look forward to growing the economic impact of the center and hope it can be a model that can be replicated in other communities across the state,” Haynes said.
Lee commended the Ayers Foundation Trust for their partnership and dedication to improving the economic prospects of rural Tennessee.
“The prosperity of rural Tennessee is critical to our state’s success. We thank the Ayers Foundation Trust for its continued partnership in Tennessee’s work to drive economic investment and create opportunity for students in every community,” Lee said.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Tennessee Star. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bill Lee and Robert Ayers” by Bill Lee.
