Editor’s note: The following individual has been named to the Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame based on SB&D owner Michael C. Randle’s travels throughout the American South since the late 1980s to today. The stories of individuals who earned their way into the SEDHOF are written by Randle. The humorous stories of Randle’s are true, but some could be embellished a bit.
December 2005: “Jane, have you heard from Kia?
By Michael C. Randle
This story about Jane Fryer is a classic.
I won’t identify by name who first told me about South Korean automaker Kia landing in West Point, Ga. four or five months before its official announcement in 2006. The reason? He told me not to identify him. So, I didn’t.
However, he did tell me definitively that Kia had picked a cow field off I-85 near the Georgia-Alabama line in Troup County, Ga., for its first U.S. plant.
You see, the dude’s county ended up in second place for Kia’s only U.S. plant. Sometimes those second place folks reveal to me the back story of a deal.
Every time I get a scoop, I fact-check it and ask the source if I can publish the story. In this case, he said, “Absolutely, publish it.” Look at their point of view; they have nothing to lose after being crossed off the list, especially the No. 2 community on the list.
So, I get a call from this famous practitioner in Mississippi and he tells me Kia had chosen West Point, Ga., for its new U.S. plant (and the only one in the U.S.), just across the line from Alabama. He specifically said “West Point, Ga.” in Troup County.
Who was the economic developer for West Point and Troup County at the time? It was none other than our friend Jane Fryer.
After receiving the scoop, I picked up the phone and called Jane. I asked her three days before Christmas in 2005: “Jane, have you heard from Kia?” Jane: “No I haven’t. Am I supposed to have?” Me: “Well, you are about to hear from them.”
A week later, I called Jane back. Me: “You ready for Kia?” Jane: “Ready for what?” Me: “Jane, a large Korean automaker is about to announce a huge assembly plant in West Point. . .Troup County, directly on I-85. They will need 2,000 workers and suppliers will locate from Montgomery to LaGrange and beyond.”
Jane: “You are joking, right?” Me: “No, the deal is done.” And the rest is history.
The fact that Jane did not know about Kia yet was because the decision was made in December of 2025, or so our source told us. We kept publishing the announcement. Of course, we called the Georgia state folks. They would not comment.
It was a true scoop for us in that we identified the automaker, the site, the place, five months before Kia officially announced the project on April 21, 2006.
A natural “true media scoop“
To get that information five months before Kia officially announced was a big deal for us as our “scoop” of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and The Wall Street Journal was particularly enjoyable to me.
The AJC had no source but me on Kia, so they called me several times from January to April and asked our source. We were not allowed to use the person’s name.
“Who are your sources,” the AJC asked?” I didn’t need but one, but we followed the money and found other unnamed sources. We simply could not publish their names.
Since I was the “only source” and knew it, I played with their journalism minds at the AJC. I had the upper hand and I had no obligation to tell them about the Kia deal and that was so frustrating for the reporters of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, who demanded I tell them my source.
And the folks at AJC were reading my words in the WSJ, NYT, the Korean media, et.al, about Kia, all the while knowing nothing about the deal. We were basking in the glory of the scoop.
The AJC reported the Kia deal on April 21, 2006, when it was officially announced. We published the deal in an “exclusive” in December 2005 and gave updates over the months.
As for Kia, the plant has been a complete success for over 20 years.
