Latest News and Insights

Recovery = Restore + Resiliency + Renewal + TransformationMAY 8, 2020 – SERIES 5 OF 6 The federal government will continue to provide stimulus packages to help the country recover from the corona virus pandemic. As with previous economic crises, there will...

Recovery = Restore + Resiliency + Renewal + TransformationMAY 5, 2020 – SERIES 4 OF 6 Renewal involves moving beyond just restoring the economy but accelerating it to go beyond the status quo. For rural America, there is an opportunity for renewal of...

Recovery = Restore + Resiliency + Renewal + TransformationMAY 1, 2020 – SERIES 3 OF 6 A strategy for recovery must include resiliency as a component of the plan. Other components include Restore, Renewal and Transformation.  Government and businesses...

Recovery = Restore + Resiliency + Renewal + TransformationAPRIL 29, 2020 – SERIES 2 OF 6 Today, we find ourselves in a difficult situation with over one million Americans now infected by coronavirus and at the same time, more than 26 million without jobs in...

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Today, Gray Swoope, President & CEO of VisionFirst Advisors announced Brenda Lathan, CEcD has joined the firm as a senior consultant. Brenda has more than 20 years of experience in rural and regional economic development, most recently serving as...

Recovery = Restore + Resiliency + Renewal + TransformationAPRIL 22, 2020 – SERIES 1 OF 6 The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that none of us have experienced. Watching its daily impact on so many lives has been sobering. Equally sobering is the impact on...

Dear Friends: We hope this email finds you healthy and managing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The events of the last few weeks have marked an inconceivable disruption in all of our business and personal lives. Since our beginning, VisionFirst Advisors has...

Natchez Democrat - Natchez and Vidalia both have strengths that could further economic development in the region, one of them being a unique creative economy with filmmakers, artists, novelists and musicians, an economic development consultant told community leaders...

Jackson County Floridian - A local economic development team has hired a former top Florida official to lead the development of a strategy for growth, and a plan to put it into action. Former Florida Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope and his team at VisionFirst...