The City of Perry is joining three neighboring cities in a promotional campaign to draw tech companies to the region.

The Perry City Council recently approved a resolution to enter into an agreement with Jefferson, Boone, and Carroll in what’s currently being referred to as a “Rural Marketing Initiative.” The idea was formed by Linc Kroeger with Pillar Technology in Jefferson, and each of the cities have agreed to spend $3,000 to fund the campaign. Perry Community and Economic Development Director Mike Fastenau has been working with Kroeger on the program, and he feels it will help bring in some major companies to the communities. “So this is kind of a pilot demonstration program in a sense for him (Kroeger), to prove to his connections in the software industry that these four communities have the amenities, and have the cultural aspects, and the business aspects, and the workforce to be an attractive place to recruit software companies and software workforce.”

Fastenau points out that one of the draws for the cities involved is to be able to refer to themselves as “a neighborhood in a community of 50,000 people,” as opposed to a single community of 7,000. He believes, as Kroeger has stated in the past, that the region is stronger and has more to offer together. Fastenau adds, the opportunity is there for Perry to be connected with two attractive destinations for the prospective companies. “I think traditionally we’ve probably kind of attached ourselves to that Des Moines metropolitan area, and that’s a huge asset. This is kind of we’re attaching ourselves to the more rural area, but yet with that proximity to the Des Moines metro area. And I hope and I believe we will see some benefits out of that.”

To hear more from Fastenau, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.