BLOUNTVILLE -- Andy Burke, president and CEO of the Regional Alliance, which works to promote economic development in Greene and nine other counties, has announced he will retire, effective Dec. 31.

Greene Countian Tom Ferguson, owner of Ferguson Development Network and former president of the Greene County Partnership, has been named the Alliance's interim president/CEO.

Scott Niswonger, the Alliance's president and a Greeneville business leader, said, "Tom has a proven economic development track record, he knows our region and the people to take the Alliance to the next level."

Ferguson "will assume his duties the week of Nov. 3 and will transition with Andy through the end of the year," the Alliance said.

Ferguson helped form the Greene County Partnership in 1993 and served as the organization's president until 2001.

During his tenure the Partnership attracted 18 new manufacturing/distribution companies while adding more than 4,000 direct new jobs and generating more than $400 million in new capital investment.

In March 2001, Ferguson left the Partnership to form Ferguson Development Network, a consulting company providing a broad base of services to businesses, communities and economic development organizations.

In 2003, he opened Ferguson Real Estate and Development, which focused strictly on industrial and commercial real estate and will be closed as a result of this move.

Florida has more than 25 years of economic development and organizational management experience, also having worked in Florida, Illinois and Ohio.

Burke was named president and CEO of the new Regional Alliance on Sept. 1, 2005.

Since then, he has worked with the 10 counties -- eight in Northeast Tennessee and two in Southwest Virginia -- to provide marketing support for economic development while also establishing the Mountain South World Trade Center.

He previously served as president of the Greensboro, N.C., Economic Development Alliance.

Burke began his career in 1965 in Dallas, Texas and has held positions in South Carolina, Nevada, Virginia, Oklahoma and North Carolina.

Niswonger, chairman of the Alliance, said it "has built a viable regional marketing organization under Andy's direction. "We are now on the radar screen of many site-selection consultants and national real estate companies who previously knew very little about our region and as a result we are starting to generate some good prospects."

A press release from the Alliance said, "Under Burke's leadership the Alliance commissioned an Image Survey, the Comprehensive Industry Cluster Analysis and the Wadley-Donovan Workforce Analysis.

Major initiatives guided by Burke include the Regional Alliance Web site, the Performance USA identity, the Bristol Motor Speedway VIP consultant project and the postcard campaign reaching thousands of site selectors, corporate real estate executives and national and regional brokers.

The Alliance says its "mission is to plan, develop and implement an aggressive and focused global marketing strategy, leverage regional recruiting efforts, support local economic development organizations, facilitate the creation of high-quality jobs, attract new capital investment, improve per-capita income and to promote, identify and position the region to successfully compete in the global marketplace."