County Mayor's speech highlights achievements, goals for future
Interlaced with comedy, the presentation showed some of the accomplishments the county saw not only in the past year, but in years leading up to 2025. Some insights into the future of the county were also given by Mayor Hutto.
Between some segments, clips of comedian Nate Bargatze's stand-up routine about Wilson County were included.
Held at the Wilson Bank & Trust Operations Center on North Castle Heights Avenue, topics discussed, which Hutto believed are important to the residents of Wilson County, included growth, achievements, quality of life, education and transit projects.
Hutto took a few moments to recognize elected officials and educators during the address.
'[I'm] proud to say we work with a great group of elected officials,' Hutto said. 'Every time they make a decision, they make it with your family on their mind.'
Statistics on Wilson County were highlighted, especially rankings compared to other counties in the state. Hutto said the county is #1 in education, public safety and agriculture, adding that Wilson County has the highest number of Century Farms in Tennessee. For economic development, the county ranks second.
'Wilson County has been known as the place to be,' he added. 'We want to be the best in the state of Tennessee when you compare it to all 95 counties.'
Video clips were included in the slideshow from various city officials across the county, and also a message from Governor Bill Lee.
'I want to take a moment to recognize your work to ensure Tennessee remains the best state in the nation,' Lee said. 'Wilson County plays an important role in the Middle Tennessee region, and we're grateful for the many ways that this community drives our economy, spurs job creation, strengthens Tennessee families and so much more.'
Within the past 12 years, 12 new schools were constructed and seven buildings were renovated. Hutto said education has been a large contributor to the county's success.
The Wilson County School Board said the county has above average graduation rates compared to the rest of Tennessee. The information was shared in a video clip featuring Wilson County Schools Public Information Officer Bart Barker.
'We are growing. In fact, new schools are being built as we speak,' Barker said. 'Because people want to be here, they want to raise their families here and they want to send their children to an incredible public school system.'
Regarding public safety, the county has doubled the size of the jail, and Hutto said a new 911 center was installed to make emergency responses more efficient. He said plans are underway to overhaul the LaGuardo WEMA station to bring new equipment for the western half of the county. Funds would come from $6 million left over from the 2020 tornado recovery funds.
Wilson County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Scott Moore spoke about school safety in another video clip embedded into the presentation.
'We're one of the first counties in the state of Tennessee to put a certified school resource officer in every school,' Moore said.
A recent active shooter training was held at Friendship Christian School by first responder agencies across the county.
'I want to reassure every citizen of Wilson County that we will do everything we can to train our SROs so they are confident in their abilities to handle these situations,' Moore said. 'They will remain proactive rather than reactive.'
Road improvement projects were also brought up, including the county's plans to revamp many of the roadways based on a 10-to-20-year projection. Hutto said TDOT is working with the county on these investments.
The presentation said economic growth and new jobs coming to the county are a high priority for future plans. New restaurants and businesses are opening up in Lebanon and Mt. Juliet. In-n-Out Burger and Tim Hortons are opening two locations in the county, new sit-down restaurant Aubrey's plans to open in Lebanon. A Sam's Club, Walmart and Target are building in Lebanon.
Hutto said the county plans to recruit more corporate, white-collar jobs to the area. According to data presented in the address, 49,000 people leave Wilson County on average every day to commute to work. Nearly 31,000 commute into the county to work.
'The 49,000 is probably something we want to continue to work at to try to find better jobs for our people here,' Hutto said. 'The goal is to continue to recruit good, high-paying jobs.'
Information provided by Zip Data Maps claims Wilson County is the 27th fastest growing county in the nation with Lebanon as the 12th fastest growing city in the nation.
Other projects like the rail yard turntable project currently underway in Watertown were briefly brought up, and Mayor Hutto ended the address by challenging people to do something for someone everyday without expectation of any payment in return.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
8 hours ago
- Business Wire
Metropolitan Commercial Bank Appoints Ali Abedini as its first Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Metropolitan Commercial Bank (the 'Bank,' 'MCB'), a full-service commercial bank headquartered in New York City is excited to announce the appointment of Ali Abedini as its first Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, a move that reinforces the Bank's commitment to investing in technology to deliver continued financial excellence and innovation. 'We recognize the critical importance of growing our team to lead the development and implementation of cutting-edge technologies to better serve our clients,' said Mark R. DeFazio, Founder, President and CEO at Metropolitan Commercial Bank. Ali joins Metropolitan Commercial Bank with over two decades of experience in advanced analytics, machine learning, and responsible AI in highly regulated financial services. The newly appointed Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer will collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate AI and advanced data capabilities into the Bank's core financial and operational systems. 'We recognize the critical importance of growing our team to lead the development and implementation of cutting-edge technologies to better serve our clients,' said Mark R. DeFazio, Founder, President and CEO at Metropolitan Commercial Bank. 'Mr. Abedini's background and experience will be instrumental in achieving our strategic growth.' Prior to joining MCB, Ali Abedini served as Executive Head of Advanced Analytics & AI at TD Bank. Throughout his career, he has spearheaded AI and data-driven initiatives, with a strong focus on personalization and intelligent automation to drive business outcomes. 'I'm honored to join Metropolitan Commercial Bank as its first Chief AI Officer at such a pivotal moment. This organization has developed a well-thought-out growth plan that will benefit from integrating AI into its systems,' commented Ali Abedini, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. 'I'm also excited to work directly with Mark DeFazio, a founder-CEO who brings a rare combination of entrepreneurial mindset and institutional leadership.' In addition to elevating Metropolitan Commercial Bank's client experience, the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer role is strategically designed to strengthen the Bank's capacity to deliver tailored banking solutions to both clients and partners. About Metropolitan Commercial Bank Metropolitan Commercial Bank (the 'Bank') is a New York City based full-service commercial bank. The Bank provides a broad range of business, commercial and personal banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, private and public middle-market and corporate enterprises and institutions, municipalities and local government entities. Metropolitan Commercial Bank provides specialized banking services for the EB-5 and E-2 communities. The Bank combines deep industry expertise with tailored financial products to ensure a smooth, secure and efficient journey from initial investment to project completion. Metropolitan Commercial Bank was named one of Newsweek's Best Regional Banks in 2024 and 2025. The Bank was ranked by Independent Community Bankers of America among the top ten successful loan producers for 2024 by loan category and asset size for commercial banks with more than $1 billion in assets. Kroll affirmed a BBB+ (investment grade) deposit rating on January 29, 2025. For the fourth time, MCB has earned a place in the Piper Sandler Bank Sm-All Stars Class of 2024. Metropolitan Commercial Bank operates banking centers and private client offices in Manhattan and Boro Park, Brooklyn in New York City, and Great Neck on Long Island in New York State. The Bank is a New York State chartered commercial bank, a member of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and an equal housing lender. The parent company of Metropolitan Commercial Bank is Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE: MCB) (the 'Company'). To learn more about the Bank visit: Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer This release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the Company's future financial condition and capital ratios, results of operations and the Company's outlook, business, share repurchases under the program, and dividend payments. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts. Such statements may be identified by the use of such words as 'may,' 'believe,' 'expect,' 'anticipate,' 'plan,' 'continue' or similar terminology. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and are generally beyond our control and may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Factors which may cause our forward-looking statements to be materially inaccurate include, but are not limited to the following: the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve and other regulatory bodies; an unexpected deterioration in the performance of our loan or securities portfolios; changes in liquidity, including the size and composition of our deposit portfolio and the percentage of uninsured deposits in the portfolio; unexpected increases in our expenses; different than anticipated growth and our ability to manage our growth; global pandemics, or localized epidemics, could adversely affect the Company's financial condition and results of operations; potential recessionary conditions, including the related effects on our borrowers and on our financial condition and results of operations; an unanticipated loss of key personnel or existing clients, or an inability to attract key employees; increases in competitive pressures among financial institutions or from non-financial institutions which may result in unanticipated changes in our loan or deposit rates; unanticipated increases in FDIC insurance premiums or future assessments; legislative, tax or regulatory changes or actions, which may adversely affect the Company's business; impacts related to or resulting from regional and community bank failures and stresses to regional banks; changes in deposit flows, funding sources or loan demand, which may adversely affect the Company's business; changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines may cause the Company's financial condition or results of operation to be reported or perceived differently; general economic conditions, including unemployment rates, either nationally or locally in some or all of the areas in which the Company does business, or conditions in the securities markets or the banking industry being less favorable than currently anticipated; inflation, which may lead to higher operating costs; declines in real estate values in the Company's market area, which may adversely affect our loan production; an unexpected adverse financial, regulatory, legal or bankruptcy event experienced by our non-bank financial service clients; system failures or cybersecurity breaches of our information technology infrastructure and/or confidential information or those of the Company's third-party service providers or those of our non-bank financial service clients for which we provide global payments infrastructure; emerging issues related to the development and use of artificial intelligence that could give rise to legal or regulatory action, damage our reputation or otherwise materially harm our business or clients; failure to maintain current technologies or technological changes that may be more difficult or expensive to implement than anticipated, and failure to successfully implement future information technology enhancements; the costs, including the possible incurrence of fines, penalties, or other negative effects (including reputational harm) of any adverse judicial, administrative, or arbitral rulings or proceedings, regulatory enforcement actions, or other legal actions to which we or any of our subsidiaries are a party, and which may adversely affect our results; the current or anticipated impact of military conflict, terrorism or other geopolitical events; the successful implementation or consummation of new business initiatives, which may be more difficult or expensive than anticipated; the timely and efficient development of new products and services offered by the Company or its strategic partners, as well as risks (including reputational and litigation) attendant thereto, and the perceived overall value and acceptance of these products and services by clients; changes in consumer spending, borrowing or savings habits; the risks associated with adverse changes to credit quality; an unexpected failure to successfully manage our credit risk and the sufficiency of our allowance for credit losses; credit and other risks from borrower and depositor concentrations (e.g., by geographic area and by industry); difficulties associated with achieving or predicting expected future financial results; and the potential impact on the Company's operations and clients resulting from natural or man-made disasters, wars, acts of terrorism, cyberattacks and pandemics, as well as those discussed under the heading 'Risk Factors' in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. We do not undertake (and expressly disclaim) any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as may be required by law.
Bloomberg
9 hours ago
- Bloomberg
FirstRand May Revise Provision After UK Car-Loans Ruling
FirstRand Ltd., South Africa's biggest bank by market value, may revise the amount of provisions it set aside to cover potential compensation and other costs its facing tied to missold car loans in the UK. Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said Sunday it will consult on a redress scheme for the missold loans, which could potentially cost lenders over £9 billion ($12 billion), after the UK Supreme Court overturned most of a lower court ruling and found that dealers can act in their own interests and generally don't need informed consent to charge commission.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Indian rupee seen under pressure on US tariff worries, RBI policy in focus
By Dharamraj Dhutia and Jaspreet Kalra MUMBAI (Reuters) -The rupee is likely to stay under pressure this week as concerns over steep U.S. tariffs on Indian exports linger, while the Reserve Bank of India's upcoming policy decision also looms large over the currency and government bonds. The rupee closed at 87.54 against the U.S. dollar on Friday, down 1.2% for the week, pressured by persistent foreign portfolio outflows and a 25% levy on Indian exports. While the local unit is hovering near its weakest level since February, fresh tariff announcements on dozens of U.S. trading partners also pushed other Asian currencies to multi-month lows. The dollar index, meanwhile, posted its best weekly gain since 2022 as expectations of a U.S. rate cut in September faded. The odds of a reduction in September rose to 80% after data released on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%. Meanwhile, the maturity of a $5 billion dollar-rupee buy/sell swap conducted by the RBI earlier this year will be in focus on Monday. "It would be prudent to break the swap into delivery and rollover. The rupee has probably seen its worst for this quarter and some support will bring it to a desirable level, while not disturbing liquidity, said Alok Singh, group head of treasury at CSB Bank. Traders expect the rupee to trade between 87.00 and 87.80 this week and reckon that the central bank may continue to intervene to limit excessive volatility. Meanwhile, India's 10-year benchmark 6.33% 2035 bond yield, settled at 6.3680% last week, up 2 basis points (bps). Traders anticipate the yield will remain in the 6.33%-6.38% band till the RBI's policy decision on Wednesday. The range could be tested on either side, depending on policymakers' decision and guidance. Although some market participants expect a rate cut, a majority of economists polled by Reuters believe RBI will hold rates steady this time. "While it is a close call, our bias remains for a 25 bps rate cut at the August meeting," Citi said. A drop in India's retail inflation to a more-than-six-year low in June, coupled with expectations that it may slip to a record low in July, have heightened hopes of a rate cut. However, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra last month said that the bar for further easing is now higher than it would have been if the stance was still "accommodative". The central bank slashed rates by a steeper-than-expected 50 bps in June and shifted its policy stance to "neutral" from "accommodative". "As the RBI awaits the impact of the large easing it has already done, we believe it will stay put on repo rate changes on 6 August," HSBC said in a note. Key Factors: India ** July HSBC services PMI and composite PMI - August 5, Tuesday (10:30 a.m.) ** Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision - August 6, Wednesday (10:00 a.m.)(Reuters poll - no change) U.S. ** June factory orders - August 4, Monday (7:30 p.m. IST) ** June international trade - August 5, Tuesday (6:00 p.m. IST) ** July S&P Global composite PMI final - August 5, Tuesday (7:15 p.m. IST) ** July S&P Global services PMI final - August 5, Tuesday (7:15 p.m. IST) ** July ISM non-manufacturing PMI - August 5, Tuesday (7:30 p.m. IST) ** Initial weekly jobless claims for week to July 28 - August 7, Thursday (6:00 p.m. IST)
