Steve Rogers seems to enjoy slamming Starkville every chance he gets.

And if Columbus was second fiddle, Starkville is the red-headed stepchild. That sticks in the craw of many Starkville leaders, especially Mayor Dan Camp. They are tired of seeing and hearing about the success in Lowndes County, especially since in many ways, Starkville views itself as the more progressive of the two communities.

Is it just me, or does Mr. Rogers have an obsession with Starkville?

Oh, by the way it’s Ruston, LA, not Rushton.

The Daily News pads the press release with a couple of quotes. Adds quotes from OCEDA chair Jack Wallace as well as Maynard.

It appears to be Jon Maynard, not “John” as stated in the GSDP release. At least that is the spelling of the name of the Vice President Business Development for the NLEDF in Shreveport. Google is truly a wonderful thing.

Just in from the GSDP:

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Greater Starkville Development Partnership Board of Directors has named John Maynard as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization. The development organization selected Maynard after a national executive search conducted by the PACE Group of Tupelo.

Maynard comes to the Greater Starkville Development Partnership from the Northwest Louisiana Economic Development Foundation (NLEDF), where he served as Vice President of Business Development. The NLEDF is a regional economic development marketing organization for 10 parishes in Northwest Louisiana.

Prior to joining the NLEDF, Maynard worked in the private sector with First Federal Bank of Louisiana and Great Loans Mortgage Funding in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He also served 11 years as President and CEO of Don Theaters, Inc. in Natchitoches managing a staff of over 30 people with multiple theater locations. Maynard has a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

The PACE Group completed community leader interviews in June to gain insight into what the community was looking for in a new CEO and prepared a Needs Assessment Report and Job Description. These reports were used to recruit candidates from all over the country as over 60 possible candidates were contacted from 16 states. Through these efforts 19 tier one candidates were identified and taken through the recruitment process to narrow the field to five finalists. The selection committee interviewed three candidates before making their decision.

“The Partnership’s goal of finding the right person for our community at this time has been successfully met. We are excited about John Maynard’s leadership abilities, his enthusiasm and his progressive approach to quality growth. Through collaborative efforts with Mississippi State University and continued involvement and support from our business leaders and elected officials, we are now poised for reaching our full potential,” Partnership Chairman Terry Kemp said.

“I am honored and thrilled to go to work for a strong organization in a community that prides itself on both Southern tradition and future innovation,” Maynard said. “The MSU motto of ‘State of the Future’ rings a special chord in today’s economic climate. Telling the world that this area is looking to develop the next great technologies and grow to be a leading community will be my job.

“I can’t think of anything more fun and interesting to do for a living. Mississippi is already being recognized within the economic development community as a growth center. My plan is to work with all of the communities in Northeast Mississippi to create a more attractive and positive region in which to grow our existing business, attract new industry and develop a better quality of life for everyone. The value of the Golden Triangle is a message that I will be proud to spread,” Maynard said.

“In light of MSU versus Louisiana Tech this weekend, I can safely say ‘Go Dawgs!’

One of the other rumors floating is the pull out of Office Depot from the former Jitney locale for a spot in Cotton Mills. (I can just see Dan Camp now, thumping his chest, yelling “I will see you a big box retailer and raise you a restaurant” in the Columbus-Steve Rogers-Camp lovefest/feud.) That also puts Sears, under new ownership, mover to the former Jitney spot.

After interviews, rumor has it that the candidate from Minden, LA caught the eye of the GSDP Executive Committee. There was a meeting this morning of said group at the GSDP HQ with some “heated conversations” occuring. There is apparently a special meeting being called for Friday.

Is this the beginning of the post-Thornell era? Did they chose wisely? Will the Executive Committee remove themselves from trying to run day-to-day operations at the GSDP and let the new CEO do his job?

Steve Rogers chimes in with his Columbus-slanted view on the Golden Triangle again.

In propping up the University Park project in Lowndes county (is there an university located anywhere near the site?), he takes a potshot or two at Starkville and Cotton Mills. From the column dated August 22:

Starkville Mayor Dan Camp and others haven’t helped by touting the multi-million dollar Cotton Mill District project proposed for their city. While different from the University Park proposal — the Cotton Mill District focuses more on turning MSU’s Cooley Building into a conference center surrounded mostly by hotels and housing with some retail — Camp has taken every opportunity to say the Columbus deal never will happen.

Maybe Rogers needs to view the site info here for the latest updates. It is close to a million square feet with two anchors (aka “big box” retailers), retail, a movie theater, restaurants, housing and a hotel. Plus its across the street from a SEC school with over 17,000 enrolled. A little different from a retail mall in the middle of a pasture in rural Lowndes County.

My sources- including Columbus, Starkville and MSU people- have said that the project that breaks ground first will probably win and severely cripple the other. Considering that demolition and engineering work is on going at Cotton Mills, along with over 50,000 or retail space signed, Cotton Mills appears the safer bet.

This race is going to be interesting to watch. Will both succeed? Will they be pale shadows of themselves due to cannibalization between the two sites? Will they both fail.

UPDATE: Great catch by Graham in the talkbacks. Should have said “It is close to a million square feet with two anchors (aka “big box” retailers), retail, a movie theater, restaurants, housing and a hotel.” Good spotting.