Interview with Garrett Wagley
of the Knox Area Chamber Partnership

Following is my interview with Garrett Wagley, Director of Communications and Government Relations for the Knox Area Chamber Partnership, in which we discussed the growing recognition of Knoxville, Tennessee as a premier mid-sized city for work, business development, and leisure.

Garrett Wagley: Knoxville does have great potential for growth. It is achieving that potential.

Not only would I point to the national rankings as proof that Knoxville is an economic powerhouse, but I would also direct people to the Jobs Now! results. As you know, Jobs Now! is the regional economic development campaign aimed at creating 35,000 net new jobs, growing non-residential capital investment to $2.5 billion, and increasing the average annual wage to $40,908.

The year 3 results were released in June and showed the creation of 20,511 net new jobs, $1,844 billion in non-residential capital investment and the average annual wage is $38,748.

The greatest benefit of the national rankings is that they place Knoxville in the national spotlight. They call attention to Knoxville among the nation’s largest companies and among those companies that might be looking to expand. We hope that the rankings cause people to take an even harder look at Knoxville as a place to locate or grow a business.

Knoxville Business: What is your sense for how unique it is for Knoxville to be a small city with so many different top rankings?

Garrett Wagley: I guess it’s unique. But my sense is that the momentum has swung to places like Knoxville. Places that offer some of the big city amenities coupled with open spaces, great outdoor recreation opportunities and without the hassles of terrible traffic, high crime, and high costs of living.

Knoxville is also well-positioned for economic growth because of our intellectual and entrepreneurial assets. The University of Tennessee – and other area colleges and universities – along with TVA and the DOE facilities in Oak Ridge make Knoxville a very interesting, creative, innovative place to do business.

The scientific and academic progress being made at those places promise new technologies that can be used to create new businesses. They also help businesses identify new ways of doing businesses or new ways to improve operations.

Knoxville Business: What other top rankings do you think we might expect to see in the near future?

Garrett Wagley: Every ranking has come as a surprise to the Chamber. What I mean by that is that we didn’t get any hints from the publishers that they were coming. We certainly did have a sense that Knoxville was an economic development leader based on the companies that had located her or grown here.

We continue to see tremendous economic growth and interest from growing companies, so I would expect that Knoxville will remain near the top of most national economic development rankings.

Knoxville Business: Is there anything that the Knoxville Chamber is particularly excited about right now & pushing to outside business communities?

Garrett Wagley: As a part of the Jobs Now! campaign, the region is working hard to brand the Knoxville area as the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley – or simply the Innovation Valley.

In much the same way the Raleigh-Durham area is known as the Research Triangle, we hope to create a national and international identity for the Innovation Valley. We want people to recognize this area as the premier place for scientific research and for scientific, cutting-edge businesses.

[The good news is,] we’re having success, and that success is represented in the recent Knoxville rankings.

Knoxville Business: Is there anything you’d like to say in conclusion?

Garrett Wagley: Knoxville is a city well-positioned for further economic growth. Its intellectual assets are strong. Its workforce is good and it is fortunate to have the University of Tennessee and its graduates here. ORNL and Oak Ridge will continue to attract some of the best minds to East Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority provides very competitively priced energy to businesses and households keep the cost of business and living low. All those things together make Knoxville an attractive place for business.

I see great opportunities in the area’s ability to license the scientific discoveries at ORNL and the Spallation Neutron Source to businesses. Those licenses could lead to unimaginable new industries and businesses. Their development could lead to the creation of great jobs continued economic development in the Knoxville area.

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