What the number '750' means

"Mamas Don't Let your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys" was a song made famous by country music legends Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson years ago. In the neck of the woods where I once lived for 30-plus years — Northeast Michigan — the song exemplified the exodus of young men and women heading out west in search for employment in the oil and gas fields. Unfortunately, the greatest export from that area was people. To which I just want to point out one number this morning — 750. For me, that number is like music to my ears. For me that number represents hope, security, health, growth and prosperity — all wrapped up together in one nice package. "Seven hundred and fifty" is the number that represents the jobs that are going to be created at the new Sheetz food distribution center here in Findlay. Until last week state officials had given the project the code name "Operation Hat Trick." Being chosen from a field of many others is a coup for Findlay and Hancock County officials. It will solidify a strong economic base with new opportunities. The residual impact from 750 new jobs to the region will be something each of us can, and will, benefit from. Dream with me for a second here about 750. Last year Findlay High's graduating class was 332. Liberty-Benton's graduates were 94. You could take all the graduates from those two schools, plus throw in those from Carey, Arcadia, Fostoria and Vanlue, and still not meet the 750 employees who will eventually be needed at the new center. At an average annual wage of $58,000, those 750 jobs will pump $43.5 million in an annual payroll into the community. Using an American Express study done in 2018, it determined that nearly two-thirds, or 67 cents of every dollar spent within a community, will stay and circulate a second time in that community. That means another $29 million will eventually roll over locally from the Sheetz payroll. To me that means the local barber shop or hair salon is going to see more traffic. It means more lattes at the local coffee shop, more sweet orders at Dietsch Brothers, more wedding flower orders at Sink's Flower Shop and Greenhouse or more pizza take-outs at Heavenly Pizza. And before you go accusing me of being a "Pollyanna" here, yes I also understand that all those jobs also come with some headaches. Yes, it means more traffic on the road. Yes, it means longer lines at the grocery stores. Yes, it will require more housing and yes, it will probably drive up the cost for housing in the community. Yes, it will require more patience at places because of the influx of more people into the community. I understand all that, yet I still choose to celebrate the region's good fortune. I see economic security for the years ahead, and I choose to get excited about that prospect. I appreciate all the work of city, county and state officials, as well as economic developers who all played a key role in helping to make this a reality. Governments are providing a lot of assistance to make this happen. But in the end, the return on that investment will prove greater than any of us can even now imagine. Bill Speer is former publisher of The Alpena (Michigan) News and a Findlay resident.