When Murfreesboro or Memphis—with their obvious logistical benefits—set out to recruit new industry, even the most disinterested of companies can recognize such urban centers have much to offer. While economic officials for such cities can attest that actually landing a new headquarters or factory still takes a lot of work, few would deny they start the race with a sizable headstart over their rural cousins.

Take, for example, the tiny town of Guys, population 493, located on a stretch of four-lane highway on the Tennessee-Mississippi border in McNairy County.

“Our quality of life is zero,” says Guys mayor Paul Durr, a local entrepreneur who owns a recession-proof business making monuments and selling burial vaults. “There’s not even a place to buy gas or toilet paper.”

Elected in 2004, Durr’s primary goal is to stop traffic heading down Highway 45 toward burgeoning Corinth, Miss., “and have them leave some money here.” His first step? To establish the Guys Regional Economic Development Corp. and to push for a $200,000 state grant to build a convenience store/gas station in the jurisdiction. State involvement is justified, according to Durr. Without it, he says, Guys will remain trapped in a catch-22 where the town can’t grow because the nation’s retailers can’t identify enough preexisting activity to justify an investment. Durr has even pitched the idea of establishing the proposed store as a nonprofit owned by the Guys community itself to kick start economic activity.

State ECD officials have visited Guys to eyeball the situation. And Durr recently went to Capitol Hill to cajole lawmakers, including Rep. Randy Rinks (D-Savannah), an influential lawmaker from adjacent Hardin County, to provide assistance.

Durr’s frustration is understandable, and his proactive approach is laudable. But some in the area say creating a new economic development corporation separate from the existing McNairy County Economic Development Corp., a branch of the local chamber, could prove counterproductive. They say interpret it as evidence that the area is fractured in its efforts to attract new industry.

By contrast, Rinks says officials with McNairy and Hardin counties are now contemplating a merger of their separate economic development initiatives into a single brand. After all, McNairy County has rail and a four-lane highway while Hardin has the Tennessee River and abundant recreation. Combined, Rinks says, they have all that’s needed to “set the bait for business.”

The broadness of that proposal runs counter to Durr’s more localized effort. But Rinks doesn’t discount the merit of Durr’s charge. “A bigger umbrella will draw the attention of companies,” Rinks says. “Then let the little towns battle for it from there.”