A season of growth is unfolding across Rome and Floyd County, guided by a fresh perspective and a deliberate approach to long-term economic success.
A native of Summerville, Spencer Hogg never imagined as a young man that he would one day be leading the economic development efforts of Rome and Floyd County. Hogg became President of the Rome Floyd Development Authority late this summer, succeeding Missy Kendrick, who left for a similar position in Columbus, Georgia.
After graduating from Chattooga High, Hogg went on to the University of Georgia where he received a degree in political science. He joined the staff of Congressman Jody Hice, who covered the Athens area. He went to Washington, D.C., for a while, then had a chance to come back to Northwest Georgia to work for Congressman Tom Graves.
As he built relationships across Northwest Georgia, one of the people he really connected with was State Senator Jeff Mullis from Chickamauga. “His day job was economic development, and eventually there was a job that came open with the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority (serving Dade, Walker, Catoosa and Chattooga counties), and he reached out and asked if it was something I’d be interested in,” Hogg said. Former Chattooga County Commissioner Jason Winters also reached out to Hogg, who ultimately applied, got the job, and spent six and a half years working with Sen. Mullis on legislative affairs and economic development as a day job.
“While getting into economic development was not always the plan, serving the public was. The inspiration for that was my mother who is a pillar of her community serving as a nurse and a nurse practitioner for over 40 years. She always went above and beyond to better her community and family, setting the path for me to want to be like her and give back any way I can,” Hogg said.
When the job in Rome was posted, Hogg initiated contact with the consultants who were leading the job search to express his interest in coming to Rome. “Growing up in Chattooga County, Rome was our big city,” Hogg said. “Rome has always been like an extension of home to me.”
According to Hogg, the biggest thing to understand about economic development is that communities are doing one of two things—growing or shrinking. He believes that growth has to be intentional and strategic. “It’s not fast, it takes time, and it’s an extremely difficult process, but it’s extremely worthwhile,” Hogg explained.
While he feels growth needs to be strategic and intentional, the process typically involves first contacts from the state, utility partners, any number of trade groups, and often from site selectors. “They reach out and give me a project name, typically an industry type, a capital expenditure investment number, projected job creation numbers, and average wage numbers. Then they give me utility or land requirement numbers—that’s all I get,” Hogg explained. He is able to respond to those needs objectively because there generally isn’t a company name attached to it.
