McKenzie’s new industrial board leader hopes to bring in jobs

McKENZIE, Tenn. — Residents of McKenzie hope to see more jobs in their future as community members gathered to welcome the new director of the industrial board.

“He has some great ideas,” Mayor Jill Holland said. “He is able to look at our community with new eyes and tell us what we need.”

Frank Tate told those in attendance he might be new to the state, but he already has a few projects on his radar.

“I want to focus on the workforce and I want to focus on developing the community to where it has a great quality of life,” Tate said.

One of the projects includes turning empty buildings into businesses.

“The fact that we have available industrial buildings on the market, we feel we can help people be operational in a quick period,” he said.

One McKenzie resident said she welcomes the idea of more local jobs so people who live in the city don’t have to commute.

“I was born and raised here and left,” Sandy Roditis said. “I was able to come back, and we want our kids to grow up here, find jobs and stay.”

Tate might be new to the state, but he said he is ready to hit the ground running, making changes not only in McKenzie but for all of West Tennessee.

“Economical development is really a regional approach,” he said. “When one community is successful, others are as well.”

He plans to get involved in the megasite because the location is great for automobile suppliers, which would provide hundreds of jobs in our area.