What One Person Can Do

Tupelo, MS (population 34,211) is a story that I use in every Boomtown talk. I tell about how George McLean, the owner of the local newspaper, was one of the first people in the country to take a regional approach to economic development. And, he started it all with a bull! You ought to see what it is today!

I was in Tupelo on Friday for a talk and tour. It is days like this that I pinch myself….it is hard to believe that I get to travel around the country touring towns like Tupelo. I’ll be talking about Tupelo all of this week and could go on with many more stories.

After George McLean revolutionized the dairy industry in northern Mississippi with his bulls, he gathered 150 people together to start the Community Development Foundation (CDF) with $25,000 in donations. The organization continues today with a staff of 20 and an annual budget of $4 million. David Rumbarger, only the third CEO in the organization’s history, was my tour guide for the event filled day.

David told me, “I was preceded by Harry Martin who ran CDF for 43 years. He was an agricultural extension agent when he was hired to run the organization. I’ve now been here for six years and came looking for a great family setting for my wife and two children. Tupelo has it all!”

"BoomtownUSA by Jack Schultz"

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