Good morning, all.

OK, so timing isn’t everything. In fact, Virginia B. Patel plans next on deconstructing my sixth-grade thesis advocating “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Patel, an Athens-Clarke County Economic Development Foundation board member, got in the Way-Back Machine and journeyed back to Dec. 7, 2008. In that strange, distant time when Dilbert turned his boss’ face purple with a wedgie and the stock market prepared to open the week at 8,637, Patel found my column, “Work force weakness wrecks bid.” Let’s read a chunk, shall we:

… You cannot control public opinion or the size of the check the state is willing to cut. But we can control the quality of employees we offer. Not just top-level scientists, but those in the middle management-to entry-levels as well.

We didn't get into this mess overnight. OneAthens. Countless church/civic groups. Activist businesses. Even parents who have decided to reinvest in our schools. In our favor, these folks are addressing so many issues we turned a blind eye to for so long. But it's gonna take time. There will be no shortcuts.

Patel took issue with my positive piece more than three months later in a forum published over the weekend. In it, Patel argues our area’s work force is “adequate for human- and animal-health-related companies.” Here’s a chunk:

… The issue of work force weakness also was mentioned in media coverage and commentary on decisions by Novartis AG and Solvay Pharmaceutical to choose locales other than this area for vaccine manufacturing facilities.

… it's clear Northeast Georgia is enhancing its strong human- and animal-health-related work force and developing a strong work force to respond to present and future industrial manufacturing needs.

OK, before we get to the subject, let’s settle one thing.

I’ve heard from a couple of you, ribbing me a bit about publishing the piece three months after my column. Downplaying discontent with the editor’s words, you say. Seriously, we just got the forum last week. We didn’t sock it away to water down the impact. It arrived only days before we published it.

And with this type of organizational lightning speed working on our behalf, how can we fail?

I have no idea why Patel opted to respond at this point I time. But since she brought it up, let’s discuss why she is so far off base here.

In the forum, Patel fails to address the fact that the work force words were not mine. Don’t kill the messenger, kids. Remember these words? “Based on the lack of proximity to NBAF related research and work force in comparison to the preferred alternative, the active community opposition, and the lack of a competitive offset package, I did not select the South Milledge Avenue Site as the preferred alternative.”

Powerful, specific comments from Homeland Security about why they aren’t coming here. Before that, we heard them from Novartis AG and Solvay Pharmaceuticals. We don't have the work force to support these major facilities. That’s not me talking; that’s the folks eyeing our community.

Yes, we are working on it. And I tip my hat to that fact often. Every now and then, with the volume we publish on them, I feel like the public relations department for Athens Tech. But when you’re doing the quality work for this community’s benefit that they are, good pub should follow.

We’re getting there. But until we arrive, Patel needs to cut the spin. It’s making us look foolish.

Athens-Turned-Oconee blogger Jonathan McGinty sums up the situation in his recent post, “It’s not a time for knee-jerk.” A chunk:

… when the people you’ve entrusted to promote, develop and recruit business to your community willfully ignore evidence - statistical and antedoctal - suggesting some of the root causes of your problem, you’re not going to get anywhere.

Granted, there are numerous challenges facing the community's efforts and Virginia 'Jinx' Patel is right in bringing attention to recent moves to bolster job training opportunities, but the argument is couched in a defensive position coming from an organization that, quite frankly, has largely failed in its central task of fostering meaningful economic development avenues. Few businesses which can provide large employment opportunities are interested in Athens-Clarke County, and those that are repeatedly cite the ill-equipped workforce in the community as a primary reason for locating elsewhere. …

Dead on. I think it speaks volumes of this community that we recognized a weakness and together moved to bolster it. Amazing stuff that doesn’t happen in every community. Cheers to us.

Of course, if Patel wants to get to the main root of the problem, let’s call out the state for short-arming economic efforts in Athens. As you know, Kansas threw three times the incentive money at the NBAF project as Georgia. I don’t advocate bribing our way to economic prosperity. But if we're going to get in these high-stakes games, then let's be in it to win it.

In the end, Patel’s piece raises more concerns about those we’ve charged with our economic future than those out here supplying the work force.

Nothing gets done when the people selling don’t hear what the people buying are saying. Let’s hope Patel's forum is more poorly timed damage control and public relations than an indication of the iron-clad beliefs of the foundation. Otherwise, I’m not sure we’re all dealing with the same reality. And that's a big concern.

* * *

Take five minutes out of your day to join Executive Editor Jason Winders here each morning. Stand up and be counted.