"We hired a full staff of 12," Barrentine said. "Three have been put to work already and the rest will go to work on Feb. 23. We were very pleased with the way the interviews took place at the One Stop Career Center. We were there Tuesday through Friday. The largest number of people we saw were on Tuesday and Wednesday, with fewer on Thursday and Friday. I don't know how many people came, but it was more than 200."
The One Stop Career Center often hosts job interview sessions for local businesses in its offices on U.S. 90 east of Marianna's city limits. The center is the location where unemployment compensation and public assistance applications are managed.
Don Barrentine is a Sneads resident who has been manager of the Tractor Supply store in Tallahassee for the past few years. The new Marianna store, located in the former Wal-Mart building in the Crossroads shopping center (U.S. 90 and S.R. 71), will hold a grand opening and ribbon cutting on March 31, Barrentine said. The store inventory should be completely stocked by March and the doors will open on Saturday, March 24.
Many local residents are familiar with Tractor Supply because of the location of another company store in Chipley off I-10 adjacent to the Wal-Mart Supercenter. That store has been open for about three years. The stores have extensive supplies for the lawn and garden, pet and animal care (including horses and chickens), fencing, other ranch needs and clothing.
TSC, headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., is the leading retailer in its market. It was founded as a mail order tractor parts business in 1938. As of March of last year, the chain had 1,000 stores in 38 states. There are more than 7,000 TSC employees, including chairman and CEO Jim Wright. Zacks Investment Research reports that TSC "earned $70 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, a growth rate of 4.35 percent which exceeded the prior-year quarter's net income of $50.2 million." Zacks recommends "buying" this "outperforming stock" (TSCO on NASDAQ--$84.20 on Tues., Feb. 14).
The TSC location could revitalize the Crossroads shopping center, the east portion of which was bought last year by Phoenix, Ariz., developer Brad Combs. Combs successfully redeveloped the nearby Oak Station shopping center which he bought in its entirety last year. The former Wal-Mart building includes 95,000 sq.ft. TSC will occupy 25,000 sq.ft., leaving about two vacancies available, developer Will Farmer told Business News on Tuesday.
