NATCHEZ — Attracting new industry to the area will be more successful together than apart, local economic development leaders say.

In recent weeks, Natchez Inc. Director Chandler Russ and Concordia Economic Industrial Development District Director Heather Malone have visited local civic clubs and organizations to update the public on the state of economic development in Adams County and Concordia Parish.

Seven months ago, Natchez, Inc. and the City of Vidalia partnered to create a regional approach to recruiting industry to the area.

The City of Vidalia agreed to contribute $100,000 to Natchez, Inc. and offer the services of Vidalia Economic Development Director Heather Malone.

The City of Natchez and the Adams County Board of Supervisors contribute annually to Natchez Inc., a public-private partnership established in 2010 to recruit new business to the Miss-Lou. Natchez Now, a non-profit whose membership is made up of local business people, also contributes financially to Natchez Inc.

The move to join forces came out of local luncheon sponsored by the Natchez-Adams Chamber of Commerce and the Concordia Parish Chamber of Commerce in 2009, Malone said in a recent presentation to the Rotary Club of Natchez.

The 2009 luncheon featured CEO of the Charlotte Regional Partnership Ronnie Bryant who discussed his group’s success as a regional economic development agency spanning two states — North Carolina and South Carolina.

Since then several regionalism efforts were spearheaded by the local chamber groups, which led to discussions about a regionalism strategy for economic development, Malone said.

“We were already working together, but we needed to figure out what to do to continue that partnership and secure it,” Malone said.

Whatever they did also needed to be simple without requiring a big investment in time, money and legislation. The new partnership, started in February, accomplishes those goals, Russ said.

“The contract we have in place with the City of Vidalia requires no change in legislation, no branding changes that would require a lot of money and no change in Natchez Inc. by-laws, Russ said to the Rotary Club.

Such a change provides many benefits, Russ and Malone said.

Vidalia stands to gain a larger staff with larger resources, Malone said.

“There was only so much I could do as one person,” Malone said.

Malone also said partnering with Natchez Inc. also offered the ability to provide economic development as a private entity as opposed to a public entity.

Russ said Natchez, Inc. has looked for more than a year to find staff replacements.

“To have someone of Heather’s caliber, to have increased funding with not a whole lot of additional training has really been an invaluable asset,” Russ said.

Russ said the additional funding is very important. Natchez, Inc. doesn’t have the same resources as other regional economic development groups, such as Tupelo and Columbus with budgets greater than $2 million.

“With our resources and a half million dollar budget we have to be smarter with our recruitment efforts, Russ said.

Seven months after the partnership, Malone said she has recognized how important the regional economic development effort is.

“We will rise and fall as region together,” Malone said. “Together as a region, collectively as a group of people with a vested interest in moving the region forward, I believe we will come out of this better.”