County Commission | The Magazine October 2017 | Page 20

FROM THE COVER Lawrence County location. From this site, the company prepares hot and frozen meals that are delivered to senior centers, colleges and hospitals across the region. Clients include the Alabama Department of Senior Services, and the Mississippi- based company has a total of six commissaries scattered around the state. The success story really began back in 2015. Valley Inc., looking to relocate to a larger facility, contacted Burch for assistance. Morale in Lawrence County had been running low for a couple of years after International Paper, the county’s largest employer, ceased operations in Courtland. Finding a new location for Valley Inc. was proving difficult, in part because the company was too small for the county’s industrial park. But Burch had an idea. The day he met company representatives at a shuttered high school in southeastern part of the county it had been about a decade since savory cooking smells wafted out of the old cafeteria. Speake High School and the Bobcats had been the heart of the community, but local students now attended a larger high school down the road. Valley Inc. thought the site had potential with good road access for the company’s delivery routes. In the end, the Lawrence County School Board leased the dormant campus at “virtually no cost.” The county had eliminated all discretionary spending from its budget, and so turned to a grant to get the project going. It funded minor improvements to the property (demo’d old awnings and sheds, painted the exterior, upgraded field lines, added parking and a loading dock). The City of Moulton lent assistance with sewage improvements. Valley Inc. invested approximately $750,000 for renovations, expansion and equipment. “Although the impact from the loss of International Paper will always have a lingering effect within Lawrence County and North Alabama, something like Valley Food Services Inc. choosing a small farming community helps alleviate the loss,” Burch said. “Now, more than 3,000 seniors from Lawrence County and the surrounding 14 counties are receiving nutritious food on a daily basis all because the county pulled together.” n Truckworx now offers The World’s Best for less! Spec for spec, the Kenworth T800 is a superior dump truck for less money than any other truck in the joint bid program! Check it out for yourself-Option C! Kenworth T800 • 15 liter Engine Horsepower • 500 Front Axle • 20,000 lb. • 46,000 lb. Rear Axle For more information contact: Mike Henderson Office: [phone] Toll-Free: [phone] Cell: [phone] E-mail: [email protected] Option A 13 Liter 455 18,000 lb. 44,000 lb. Truckworx is also an ACCA Joint Bid Program approved supplier for these high-quality products: 2017 Clement Half Round Dump Trailer 20 | COUNTY COMMISSION • • • • 2018 KW W900L Lowboy (Option B)