Hundreds of U.

Thursday, July 27, 2000

Hundreds of U.S. industrial leaders will soon receive a taste of what Lawrence County has to offer them.

A three-page advertisement highlighting the county is ready for publication in Midwest Business and Industrial Properties magazine.

"It’s an insert, really, featuring Southern Ohio," said Roger Haley, the Greater Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce’s South Point Industrial Park manager.

It will reach 500 industries and become a powerful promotional tool for the county, Haley said.

Ohio University Southern Campus dean Bill Dingus introduced the advertisement July 12 during an Appalachian Regional Commission town meeting in Ironton, presenting it to Gov. Bob Taft.

Dingus, who serves as the chamber’s legislative committee chairman, said the ad is the first marketing piece for the county.

Although the chamber has marketing materials, the idea of an expanded campaign surfaced earlier this year when the state announced it would help Ironton after its struggle with job losses from Cabletron and Ironton Iron closures.

The state’s First Frontier marketing group is funding up to 50 percent of local marketing plans.

Chamber and Lawrence Economic Development Corporation executive director Pat Clonch said the state has encouraged local officials to move forward and the advertisement is one of those steps.

"We know local folks are interested in locating at the South Point park, but this marketing piece is a way to find out exactly what industries are interested in across the nation," Mrs. Clonch said.

The advertisement states that Ohio has identified its southern area as a special target for increased economic development assistance.

It also explains the county has access to river, rail and road transportation, and has the workforce to back any job – key questions among industries, economic development leaders say.

The ad lists available areas, such as the South Point Industrial Park, a 38-acre site in Ironton and more than 200 acres in Hanging Rock that feature 8,000 feet of riverfront property.

It also boasts that Lawrence County is within a day’s drive – 600 miles – of most of the nation’s metropolitan areas.

Three pages of the ad features only Lawrence County. Gallia and Scioto counties are also featured but those counties also highlight the Ohio River Valley – its assets and workforce, Mrs. Clonch said.

"That visual is probably going to bring us some calls from across the nation," she said. "The result and goal of the ad is to see what these industries are looking for and give us clients and help us with future planning."

Also, with some advertising or marketing campaigns, economic leaders don’t know who they are reaching, Mrs. Clonch said.

"But this is a targeted piece and we’ll know if we’re going in the right direction," she said.