2016 Combined

face of recovery be a known entity in the world of industry.

the city and county together to purchase the building and turn around and do a lease purchase with Polo to purchase the building over 20 years. We have supported Taylor and all the expansions they have done." Looking back, Mills is happy with the progress of the Partnership, as well as its future in the cormng years. I am proud to say that we did community development from Day 1," Mills said. "From an economic development standpoint, if you wake up every morning and say 'How can I make my product better,' then everything else will take care of itself. 'The Partnership has a lot of things in the pipeline. We have sent in two RFP's for new business this week alone. We feel like now that once a project is announced, we have enough quality sites and buildings so that we will be able to get on the radar for those." The Partnership will soon witness one of the county's most symbolic items of recovery from the storms is the com pletion of Winston Plywood & Veneer, which Mills called «the icing on the cake" for his retirement. For Mills, his retire-

"We think now that when there is a project that gets programmed into the TVA system or the MDA system that we are on the radar," Mills said. The Partnership also played a major role in the aftermath of the April 28, 2014 storms. 'We certainly helped play a part in the recov ery process in the coun ty," Mills said. 'We han dled the funds for WinstonStrong. We staffed, we supported, and we provided space for FEMA, MEMA, The Red Cross, as well as WinstonStrong. We have been able to work on behalf of the county towards completion of repairs ·on the Teter's building. We do the administration and maintenance for this." The Partnership is always promoting eco nomic growth, whether it is campaigning to bring a new industry in or to improve existing ones. "Not a lot of people know that our primary goal is to support our existing industries,'' Mills said. ''I think we try to do that. You can never do that as goods as it should be, but you can try." With this support, local businesses look to thrive in the future years. 'We moved Polo from the old building to its current location," Mills said. "They have cer tainly grown since I first got here. There were about 85-90 employees when I first got here, and now they soon will be around 200. We were the architects of putting

Mills ment may possibly a short-lived one. "I have several things that people have asked for my assistance with," he said. "I have always loved leadership roles, and I have had some people ask me to put together some leader ship programs for them. I probably will do some consulting as well." As the Partnership looks to write its next chapter in the saga of Winston County, Mills will be looking to closing his chapter of serving the Partnership and aiding in the county's search to achieve eco nomic success. A retirement event will be held for Mills at the Chamber of Commerce from 2 to 4

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