Peachtree City welcomes Joey Grisham as City’s new Economic Development Coordinator

Although Joey Grisham had a wintery welcome his first month on the job as Peachtree City’s first full-time Economic Development Coordinator, he has hit the ground running since relocating to Peachtree City from Texas in January.

Grisham has nearly a decade of experience in economic development and retail consulting, successfully leading local economic development agencies in Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi. He is one of fewer than 300 individuals in the country to possess a Master’s Degree in Economic Development.

Grisham comes to Peachtree City from Keller, Texas, which was named as the 7th Best Place to Live by MONEY Magazine (just ahead of Peachtree City’s #8 slot). He also worked in Granbury, Texas, which was named one of the Top Places to Retire.

As a retail market consultant, Grisham has been involved in projects in six states, performing market assessments, retail leakage/surplus analyses, demographic/psychographic profiling, and making community/economic development recommendations. Over the years, he has developed a large network of contacts with realtors, developers, site location consultants, retailers, and corporations that will be of benefit to Peachtree City.

Joey has set an impressive list of goals for his first year with Peachtree City. He said, “First, I look forward to working closely with local businesses to help market shopping centers and reduce retail leakage, along with getting to know our existing industries and identifying any possible expansion plans and how the City might be able to assist.”

He is developing a long-range Economic Development Strategic Plan as he works with the Development Authority of Peachtree City and the Fayette County Development Authority to enhance the business climate.

Another priority of Grisham’s is to develop professional marketing materials and update Peachtree City’s website to include more economic development information for recruiting new businesses to the community.

Finally, he will be providing monthly economic development updates in Peachtree City’s weekly email newsletter, Peachtree City UPDATES. Residents can subscribe to this publication at www.peachtree-city.org/subscribe.

As a first step toward meeting these goals, Grisham will present a proposed budget for the new Economic Development Department to the Mayor and City Council for discussion and on Thursday, February 17. Council approved the City’s first full-time Economic Development Coordinator position as part of the FY 2011 budget. Grisham’s proposal will be available Friday, February 11, on the City’s web site as part of the Council Meeting Packet at www.peachtree-city.org/councilagenda.

Peachtree City’s Interim City Manager, Nikki Vrana, said, “We welcome Joey to Peachtree City. His background and professional experience make him a perfect fit for our community, and we look forward to his bringing a much greater focus on economic development in the coming year.” Grisham holds degrees from the University of Mississippi, University of Memphis, and University of Southern Mississippi. He and his wife, Shandy Long, have two children.