Cocke County Mayor aims to retain local graduates through economic investment

COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis is working to help the county capitalize on its location and attract future investors.
Mathis recently attended the annual summit of the Tennessee Valley Corridor, a nonprofit organization spans Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina. It is focused on attracting investments related to fields like technology, science, and national security.
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'The thought of was kind of the second Manhattan Project, but in a much broader scope that goes all the way from Birmingham through Huntsville, Alabama, the Space and Rocket Center, Oak Ridge, Chattanooga, Knoxville and then into Virginia and beyond,' Mathis explained. 'Cocke County sits right astride that corridor because it flows right beside I-40.'
Despite its proximity to I-40, Mathis told 6 News that Cocke County has yet to take advantage of the opportunity.
'If we can offer them something on the low-end or something that pays on high-end but also rewards them for going out and getting an education,' Mathis said. 'Let's say a kid wants to get a degree in engineering, a degree in finance, a degree in you name it. Whatever those fields are, we have to create opportunities for those young people to stay as well. So that's what this does.'
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Mathis looking to change this as the county is finishing up construction on an industrial park. Mathis believes construction will wrap up next year.
'We're currently in the process of running sewer, so that's kind of the last big piece. But we have got about eight good sites, flat sites for new employers to come into that park.' Mathis said.
This new venture is to not only help the county recover from Helene, but continues to propel forward.
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'We're excited about this opportunity and to be able to move forward as a county and this is not just about recovery from a disaster, this is about regaining and enhancing the momentum we had before the disaster happened,' he said.
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