COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch

The City of Columbus has announced that they will be reestablishing their partnership with the GTR LINK, albeit under different conditions than their prior agreement. The two had parted ways about a year ago, when the city chose to give Tupelo’s The Retail Coach a try; TRC’s contract will end on October 15.

“We are pleased to see the city and county working together on economic development,” said LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins in a statement. “We will not be replacing the retail services of their previous provider. We will continue (to) provide technical support for retail projects as well as workforce development, existing business expansion and retention, new business attraction and development, and research and planning services as outlined in our services contract with Lowndes County.”

However, this will leave the city without a company responsible for retail recruitment. The LINK had once covered that role, but “Now that we represent three counties and our staff is changing, we do not have the manpower to address retail that way,” LINK Chief Operations Officer Macaulay Whitaker said.

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