Anna Cardona said there was a turning point during her interview when she was being considered for the positon of Executive Director for the Tate County Economic Development Foundation.
“As part of the process, I was asked ‘Why should we not hire you?’” recalled Cardona. “And my response was, ‘Well, you might not hire me because I’m young—I’m 40—and I’m a woman.’ The room fell silent. I had the courage to tell the truth.”
It was that kind of forthrightness, coupled with Cardona’s equally forthright ideas to improve the foundation’s modus operandi and how she could help in the process, that led to her being tapped to become the new director this past September.
Cardona obtained a degree in Interior Architecture from the University of Memphis (in her hometown) and actually started her career as an interior designer with the architecture firm, Askew Nixon and Ferguson, also in Memphis. “I worked with them for two years before the recession necessitated some layoffs and I was one of the casualties,” said Cardona. “I worked with a couple of other companies afterwards, but started to realize that I had a real passion for project management.”
That passion broadened and evolved, observed Cardona, as she began to become interested in economic development, eventually “falling in love with the field,” she said. She served in various higher level economic development and marketing positions with the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Simon Property Group and EDGE (Economic Development Growth Engine) for Memphis and Shelby County, before getting the call to come to Tate County.
After taking the position a few months ago Cardona hit the ground running, emailing to her board a 90-day strategic plan for the Senatobia-based organization that she had actually written before being hired.
“I assessed what was going right for Tate County in terms of economic growth and what needed to be fixed,” said Cardona about her first few days as the new director. “I attacked the problems, the hard stuff, first. We got the website redesigned, created incentive standards, and got young professionals and C-suite councils in place early on. Additionally, I thought we could get some quick wins for Tate County by creating a wishlist. I bought a white board, put it in my office and asked everyone who came to visit or meet with me to put their ‘wish’ on it. The more common responses were, as just two examples, a Kroger or a Waffle House.”
The latter wish came true for one of her visitors thanks to Cardona’s quick thinking.
“The Lord really works in mysterious ways,” she laughed. “I just happened to be chatting with the area president of Waffle House on LinkedIn, coincidentally, a few days prior to that wish appearing on the list. I got back in touch and informed him that Tate County didn’t have a Waffle House and we needed to fix that immediately. He agreed, writing back to me, ‘LOL. You’ve got a deal.’ Two weeks later, he was in our county and we just recently got an email informing us that a land purchase had taken place and that Senatobia would have a Waffle House open by next summer.”
Cardona said she gives her board weekly updates on everything she’s done and believes in total transparency. “I break down my daily activities and report them,” she said. “It’s important to me that, with every step I take, the board feels good about the direction we’re going.”
Tate County has a number of attractive assets and advantages that stand out, noted Cardona. “We have available land that can be developed, the county has an appetite for change and the political and business leadership here is open to new ideas and best practices. I can feel a new direction in the air here—it’s tangible. And now, for me…it’s home.”
Her vision for Tate County, her new home? Cardona said it goes beyond adding new jobs and rooftops.
“My board knows that I’m interested in bringing some worthwhile non-profits to the area, two specifically: one dealing with workforce development for elementary and middle school students and the other focused on teaching drones and robotics skills,” said Cardona. “I’m also working with the state and federal government to try and bring more broadband access to the county. I call these things the intellectual infrastructure we need to be competitive in a global market.
“I’m very grateful for this opportunity. It’s been a dream come true for me,” summarized Cardona. “I have been welcomed in Tate County with open arms and can’t wait to do great things here with my board and my team—which will happen.”