Greg Canfield is optimistic about rural Alabama’s long-term economic …

On Wednesday, Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said, “Rural Alabama looks set for long-term economic growth.” Canfield is set to leave state government at the end of the month.

“When I reflect on what we’ve achieved during my tenure at the Alabama Department of Commerce, one of the things I always underline is an increased emphasis on rural development,” Canfield said. “This began with the new strategies we adopted in Accelerate Alabama 2.0, the updated version of our strategic economic development plan. We took a step further in 2019 when Commerce formed its first Office of Rural Development, led by Brenda Tuck.”

“Since then, we’ve been on a roll. In the past three-plus years, the economic development team working in Alabama’s rural counties has secured over $4 billion in new capital investment through projects projected to create more than 5,400 jobs,” Canfield continued. “No wonder Governor Kay…