COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of The Dispatch and Emma McRae
– Emma McRae, Dispatch Staff
Tire shop mogul Thomas Duff spoke with the Rotary Club of Columbus, MS recently. lauding the GTR’s commitment to regional economic development and expansion of the job market: “Of all the places in this state that have seen the economic activity and the success that you have, boy it speaks volumes about what you’ve got going on here,” Duff told Rotarians at Lion Hills Center. “To be able to have counties come together to form a partnership so that everyone participates and gets better, that’s what we have to have in our state.” Duff is co-owner of Southern Tire Mart along with his brother, James.
Duff believes that we can improve the economic conditions of our state as a whole by spreading the GTR’s model out statewide over time: “The fact is we (have a lot of unemployed people) that should be working because they don’t have (access to) a good job, and they aren’t paid enough to be able to go to work,” he said. “… It has made me think about that because when you have a good paid job, you have an investment in your area. You’ve got hope. You can say, ‘I have a job. I can raise my family, and because of that, I’ve got hope for my future.’. . . Your manufacturing pays well. It has a great opportunity for success in this area. That’s what our state needs.”
Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/billionaire-businessman-boasts-outsiders-view-for-growing-state/
