ATHENS, Alabama — The Limestone County Economic Development Association held their annual meeting on Tuesday to celebrate the county's growth.
Limestone County is the fastest growing county in the state.
On Tuesday, those who have invested into the community were recognized for their contributions.
Despite the pandemic, Limestone County continues to see tremendous growth and hundreds more jobs being brought to the area.
LCEDA President & CEO Bethany Shockney said, "We are confident that we can meet the workforce challenge that everyone is talking about because we can attract people from out of town. We can attract people that aren't familiar with us, and we also have a very strong pipeline coming through with our education system."
Shockney says they are working to grow their social media presence and spotlight local companies to attract more people to the area.
The Economic Development Association says Limestone County is in a unique area with Nashville and Birmingham nearby and Huntsville just thirty minutes away.
The rapid growth in Madison County is also adding to the economic boom in Limestone County.
On Tuesday, it was announced a new Amazon fulfillment center is coming to Huntsville in Fall 2021. This facility will join Amazon's fulfillment center in Bessemer, AL to expand the company's footprint in the state.
The new fulfillment center will create more than 500 new, full-time jobs. Amazon employees will pick, pack, and ship bulky or larger-sized customer items.
Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly said this about the announcement: "This is an exciting announcement for Huntsville-annexed Limestone County. This investment in our county and the 500 jobs that will be created by this project, will greatly impact our county for many years. We would like to thank Amazon for believing in us, selecting our county for their new fulfilment center, and we welcome them to the Limestone County family.”
As of 2018, Huntsville had annexed about 38.9 square miles in Limestone County. According to the city, it had been acquiring land in Limestone County for decades, including the area northeast of I-65 and stretching toward the Madison city limits north of I-565.
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