Etowah County’s industrial megasite property will not only have a new promoter starting this year — it will be rebranded with a new name and logo designed to give people outside the county more of an idea of where the site is, and one of its top selling points.

The new name: Northeast Alabama Regional Megasite, or NEAR, will convey a general location, as Etowah County Commission Chief Administrative Officer Shane Ellison explained, and the fact that the megasite is “near” many assets to potential industry: near the railroad, near the river, near workers and more.

The new name will place the site geographically for industrial prospects, and the logo — with NEAR superimposed over a shovel — is expected to help convey the idea that the site is near “shovel ready” for them.

As for the regional part of the new name, it illustrates the confidence expressed by all involved that new industry will be brought to the site that will benefit not only Etowah County, but the surrounding region as well.

(News Release)