FERRIS – With more than 40 years in real estate expertise and 22 years of public and private economic development, Scott Jones was hired by the City of Ferris to take over the Economic Development Corporation as director.

    Final approval came Monday night when council approved his hiring, and he started work Tuesday.

    Jones was one of more than 10 applicants applying for the position after the departure of Sean Overyender in September.

    After a six-member hiring committee’s recommendation, Jones got the final nod for the $60,000 position with benefits.

    The hiring committee was composed of two council members, Sheri Chapman and Jay Walsh, two Economic 4A members, Charles Hatfield and Chad Newsom, and two members of the Economic 4B, Rudy Amor and Barbara Pardue.

    Jones went before the hiring committee on Nov. 10 for an in-depth interview.

    Jones brings an impressive resume’ to the table as the former Economic Development Director of Corsicana and Navarro County.

    He also has a degree from the University of Texas-Dallas in Economics and Finance.

    He has 18 years in site selection, and worked with several national firms and became an incentive negotiation specialist.

    He will direct and coordinate economic development activities in the City of Ferris. He is also responsible for attracting, retaining and promoting business within the city.

    The economic development director is the principal on-site staff person responsible for coordinating all economic development activities and works with considerable independence within the scope of established policies, rules, and procedures.

    Jones stated in his application, “Successful economic development in any size community is a concerted team effort of local stakeholders joining together in the mutual pursuit of common goals to benefit that community,

    “To that end, Ferris, Texas has defined some of these goals through a strategic process conducted by Stantec in 2016,

    “The resultant plan document appears to have been adopted by city government and other stakeholders invested in the long term economic success of Ferris, and in its desires to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in the strategic planning process. Though the resulting document of that process is apparently not available on line, we will assume, for the purposes of this discussion, that little has changed since 2016 in Ferris... other than some business and population growth, which improve upon any negative findings or gaps in the needs of the citizens of Ferris affected by the city’s economic conditions and the quality of life of the residents living there or those looking to do so in the future.”