Denison -- It only takes a quick glance to tell Denison is moving forward during a period when many cities are struggling out of a difficult financial period.
Voters passed an $80 million school bond and the new Denison High School will be completed in 2014, plus a $5 million goal may be reached as early as next week that will allow for the renovation of Munson Stadium. City leaders feel Denison will soon have the best educational facilities in the region.
Schuler Development plans to build as many as 10,000 homes on 3,000 acres it recently acquired, Texoma Medical Center is growing and expanding, the hotel/motel tax revenue is at record levels and 11 new small businesses are in the process of relocating to historic downtown Denison.
"People are willing to invest in a community that is working together," remarked Denison Mayor Jared Johnson at a news conference April 18 to announce more good news for the area.
"We're opening a site here in Denison with 125 jobs," stated Jim Elmore, program manager at National Government Services. "Hopefully, more will come."
This announcement is the first step in replacing the 500 jobs lost when TrailBlazer closed its Denison location because some of the former TrailBlazer employees have already been hired by National Government Services, which was described by Elmore as a "high-volume, high-capacity kind of business" that processes Medicare claims.
With a trained workforce standing by and a 20,000 sq. ft. facility available in the Eisenhower Business Center, National Government Services took a close look at Denison.
"What clinched the deal was the people we worked with in Denison," explained Elmore. "Denison wasn't the only site we visited, but it was head and shoulders above the other sites. There are people here, not only with the skill set, but they wanted to work...people with a real work ethic."
This latest announcement would seem to be another accomplishment by "Team Denison."
"I can tell you we have a great team here," said Robert Brady, a former Denison mayor and a board member of Denison Development Alliance. "It is our team that makes Denison special. It is a great day to be in Denison!"
