Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Matt Kisber, commissioner of Economic and Community Development, accepted the 2007 Competitiveness Award from Mark Arend, managing editor of Site Selection magazine, on Thursday.

The announcement marks the second time the state of Tennessee has placed first among the annual ranking of states by one of America’s leading economic development publications.

“Through strong business cycles and down periods, Tennessee has focused on building the infrastructure and the workforce to attract higher skilled, better paying jobs,” said Gov. Bredesen. “The investments we’ve made have been prudent and positioned our state for the next generation of new jobs.”

The editors of Site Selection developed the Competitiveness Award in 2003 as a way of comparing economic development on an equal basis between large and small states. In addition to considering per capita investment and job growth, the selection committee also looks at the rankings of Tennessee’s large and small communities in the magazine’s annual rating of top metros, the state’s business climate and economic trends from 2005 to 2007.

Each year that Site Selection has published its annual Competitiveness Award, Tennessee has been listed among the nation’s top ten states.

“This award is significant in that it’s more than simply a tally of jobs created and capital attracted to a state,” said Mr. Kisber. “This ranking tracks economic growth on a per capita basis over a period of time and it shows the cooperation we’ve developed with local communities is really paying off.”

Gov. Bredesen and Mr. Kisber accepted the award on Thursday on the stage of the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, former home of the Grand Ole Opry. The stage of the Ryman has figured prominently in business marketing for the state of Tennessee, utilizing the theme “The Stage is Set.”

"Tennessee's leadership has taken important steps to make its business climate competitive," said Mark Arend, editor in chief of Site Selection. "These include reforming the workers' compensation program, creation of the Jobs Cabinet, retooling incentives and other programs at ECD's disposal and revamping community-development programs to make Tennessee communities more competitive. These and other measures are clearly working, and they have contributed substantially to Tennessee's strong performance in our annual state competitiveness ranking."

The award marks a strong year for Tennessee’s performance according to Site Selection writers and editors. In February, Tennessee placed third in the magazine’s annual Governor’s Cup issue, ranking states on capital investment and job creation for the year 2007.