In Part II of this podcast series on rural economic development and lending, Michelle chats with Thomas Kimsey, President & CEO of Thomas USAF Group, and Mike Couch, Executive Director of the Central State Hospital Development Authority. Couch was named the National Rural Lenders’ Roundtable’s Borrower of the Year and describes how he and others are developing the former Central State Hospital Campus, an overwhelmingly vacant campus in Milledgeville, Georgia, with the goal of job creation. Thomas USAF, along with USDA’s B&I Guaranteed Loan Program, funded the largest project to date, which involved getting support from both the governor and state legislature. With the help of Food Service Partners, the project transformed a former food kitchen into a fully functional USDA-certified food facility. The bottom line — increased sustainability, jobs and a boost for the local economy. Couch concludes by noting that, without Thomas USAF, the project would not have happened. Couch also mentions another USDA funded success story — a nursing home on the CSH Campus that is dramatically contributing in new jobs and the overall economic health of the local community. This episode is sponsored by Thomas USAF, www.thomasusaf.com.
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