- Community Development Foundation CEO David Rumbarger says Lee County has a much more diverse economy now.
In the last four years, under the longtime leadership of Community Development Foundation (CDF) CEO David P. Rumbarger, Jr., CEcD FM, Lee County has attracted at least $711 million in project investments and added 2,850 jobs.
Lee County (population 82,799), once known for its furniture manufacturing, continues to increase that sector of the economy. Ashley Furniture, the world’s largest furniture maker, has invested $102 million in Lee County since 2020, creating at least 630 jobs.
But Lee County has a much more diverse economy now. For example, in July, Swiss manufacturer Liebherr, one of the world’s largest makers of construction equipment, announced plans for three phases totaling $238.4 million and creating up to 342 jobs over the next five years.
In March, the Tupelo region was named to Site Selection magazine’s list of most active micropolitan areas for corporate facility investments for the 14th time since 2005.
For 2023, Tupelo ranked seventh among 551 micropolitan areas designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget with a labor force of 10,000 to 50,000.
In 2023, the Tupelo region announced a dozen new and expanding industry projects representing $127 million in new capital investment and more than 321 new jobs, including Hush Aerospace, Hyperion Technology Group, Stanley, Black & Decker (formerly MTD Products), and Go Systems.
For 2021, the second time (2019) the Tupelo region ranked second in Site Selection magazine’s micropolitan list, Lee County had 19 new and expanding industry projects, including Martinrea Automotive Structures, Waste Management, Sandman Bedding LLC, Carmigo, and Raybern Foods. The projects created more than $105 million in new capital investment and more than 1,300 new jobs.
Right now, Lee County has 1,700 acres and 44 sites available, in four industrial parks: Turner Industrial Park, Tupelo Lee Industrial Park South, Harry A. Martin North Lee Industrial Complex, and The HIVE Business Park.
Magnolia Tribune spoke to Rumbarger, the CDF leader since 2000, about Lee County’s robust economy. Of many awards received over the years, in 2021, he received the prestigious Jeffrey A. Finkle Organizational Leadership Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), and in 2023, he was named one of Consultant Connect’s Top 50 Economic Developers in North America.
Q: What has been your greatest economic development challenge?
“Working in Mississippi for over 30 years, first in Hattiesburg from 1990-96, and now in Tupelo since 2000, the greatest challenge is the scarcity of available resources to pursue new development. Most of the time, as we’re recruiting and putting together packages for development, we must include roads, water, electricity, and wastewater. Other more population-rich and prosperous states are already there with those business essentials.
“Communities that can invest in developable land and industrial sites have an advantage in the marketplace. The utility Mega Site program has helped, and Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) site assistance grants have helped bridge the gap in recent years.”
Q: If you had to pick a few recent highlights, what would they be?
“August 2024 was the most unusual yet exciting month in my career. Lee County and MDA announced four projects locally: Ashley Furniture’s mattress production expansion in Verona and Saltillo, Grammer’s products expansion in the Tupelo/Lee Industrial Park South, newcomer Liebherr Logistics in Lee County’s newest industrial Park The HIVE in West Tupelo, and finally Amazon’s last-mile center in the Turner Industrial Park in Saltillo.
“In economic development, we’re working on projects confidentially all the time, but these projects landing back-to-back over four weeks in August was a first for CDF and Lee County! These projects totaled over $350 million in capital investment and will employ over 660 new jobs in the community. For me and the CDF team, it represents our goal of economic diversity in the county. We like to say: if the national economy gets the flu, we in Lee County just suffer a mild cold, and that’s done through a diverse and balanced economic employer environment.
“On the chamber of commerce front, I’m so proud of two big leadership programs we’ve established over the years: The Jim Ingram Community Leadership Institute and IGNITE, our annual marquee leadership conference occurring each January, with 800 or so attendees. They’re so satisfying. To see the Tupelo/Lee County leadership community come together to continue the tradition of positive leadership in this area is so vital, and it’s something for which Tupelo/Lee County is well known.
Q: How has your staff evolved since you joined CDF?
“I’ve been incredibly blessed with an extremely talented and dedicated staff. We have two employees who have been with CDF for 25 years; two have been with us 20 years; and six have 10-plus years at CDF. If you do the math, that’s over 150 years of service and experience!
“My team works well together, respects each other, and holds each other accountable. You must be mission-focused and accomplishment-driven to succeed at CDF and that fits most of our personalities.”
