Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce President David Bautista has chosen "Sustain the Momentum" as the organization's motto for 2005.
  Since 2003, Bautista says he has seen "more economic momentum in Carter County than we have experienced in many, many years. We've had in excess of $14 million in new construction, led by Super Wal-Mart and Lowe's Home Improvement, and more on the way. Food City completed a major renovation. Lonestar Restaurant is coming. Applebee's is coming. We already have several new restaurants and more are coming.
  "That will increase the amount of dollars spent for new construction, that's in the city of Elizabethton alone. It's very unusual to have that much new construction in that short a period of time. That's a real plus for any county and especially for ours, because we were so concentrated with heavy industry. That's just the way we've been for 60 or 70 years, going back to the days of the Rayon plants...
  "Carter County, like much of our nation, has experienced a loss of heavy industry, so it seemed to hit us extra hard because we had so much of it. And we lost the bulk of it. We're now moving into the new economy. The new economy is service-oriented industry with high-tech jobs. So our task is to get our community ready to move into the new economy, to recruit service-oriented industries, and to get our work force ready to accept high-tech jobs in the service-oriented industries." More training is necessary to prepare the work force for those jobs, he said.
  Bautista praises the Carter County Leadership Tomorrow Class. "It opens your eyes to a lot of things and primarily the needs of the community," he said. "We had some excellent presenters. I really enjoyed the time up at Doe River Gorge. I almost thought I was back in basic training with the Army, swinging through those trees."
  Bautista was a member of the 2002 class. "We had some outstanding people in that class," he said. He noted that four successive Chamber presidents were members of that class. "That's highly unusual," he said. "This shows the dedication that they had."
  The 2002 leadership class conducted a survey in the county. "We placed survey boxes in all major grocery stores and in all places where the public tends to congregate, in the courthouses, and so forth. We asked two questions, 'One, what do you like about Carter County?' and two, 'What improvements, if any, are needed?'"
  Those surveyed replied that they loved "the scenic beauty" and "friendly people" of Carter County, which they said was "a great place to live."
  For improvements, the need for "jobs, jobs and more jobs" was a primary concern. Another concern was for more new and good restaurants. "Some people would say, 'We need a revised beverage policy to attract those restaurants and businesses,' so we had a referendum in Elizabethton. We passed a revised beverage policy, and since that time we have seen that Applebee's is coming in to Carter County. The Lonestar Steakhouse is coming as well. They acquired about five acres of land up on Highway 19E, so there will be more there than just the Lonestar restaurant, quite obviously. This is the momentum I'm talking about. We've had a new Bojangle's, a new Captain D's, one right after another. This is the momentum that we hope to sustain in Carter County."
  Bautista anticipates that the expansion will reach farther than the city of Elizabethton. "It will have to," he said, "just like it has in Washington County with the city of Johnson City. Johnson City has been just like a boom town for many years, a fast-growing city. Elizabethton would not grow as fast, but it will spread out, there's no doubt about it.
  "You can see all the new construction that's in Hampton today, and I think you're going to continue to see that type of thing, where businesses start to spread out from the city proper in Elizabethton."
  In addition to serving on the Chamber's board of directors, Bautista has served as the organization's treasurer.
  Bautista is the First Judicial District Public Defender and serves Carter, Washington, Johnson and Unicoi counties.