Talk about excitement. The announcement earlier this week that Quality Pork Producers was coming to town, bringing 200 jobs, was exciting.

We welcome the corporation to the community &045; QPP

has an excellent reputation as responsible corporate citizens.

Finalizing the deal with the company is a feather in the caps of economic development officals and must have felt pretty darned good after a number of failed attempts with other corporations.

Economic development is perhaps one of the most thankless jobs &045; there are few rewards for a whole ton of work, and if there are no results, criticism runs rampant.

However, competition among cities vying for businesses is fierce and when a community looses a bid, it can be demoralizing &045; for the community and the people who worked so hard to make a deal.

When these people have a victory, though, the whole community benefits and such will be the case with Quality Pork Producers. We hope development officials shared a glass of champagne to celebrate.

We also hope that the promise of 200 jobs won’t stop a continued proactive approach to draw businesses to Albert Lea.

We encourage our development people who worked so hard to celebrate and enjoy the moment &045; but caution them against resting on their laurels. They must continue to work hard to bring businesses to Albert Lea to build a solid foundation of economic prosperity to its residents.

Perhaps we are preaching to the choir &045; the folks who work to bring new enterprises to the community are also residents who benefit when Albert Lea is a leader.