About Us
Executive Director
Melissa Rivers is the Executive Director for the Crossroads Coalition. Crossroads is a 10 county regional partnership whose mission is to promote broad based development in East Arkansas through education, community, leadership and economic development.
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Crossroads Coalition
The Crossroads Coalition is a comprehensive organization comprised of partnering organizations and individuals, all of whom are actively seeking to enhance broad-based development in the region. The Crossroads Coalition is comprised of the following ten counties in Eastern Arkansas: Crittenden, Cross, Jackson, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, St Francis, and Woodruff. Throughout these ten counties is a unified goal to increase the economic development throughout the Crossroads Region. The Crossroads region is already ahead in economic development with the formation of the Crossroads Coalition. Many rural Arkansas communities have declining populations and do not have the infrastructure to compete in the global marketplace of today. A regional approach will allow all communities in the region to compete and prosper.
The region also has a combined labor force of more than 100,000 workers. The industry has a strong base in manufacturing followed by retail, healthcare, and agriculture.
With the majority of the work force in manufacturing there are global leaders located within the Coalition Counties. American Greetings, Nucor-Yamato Steel Company, Mueller Industries, Columbia Forest, and Gilster-Mary Lee are just a few of the many that that enrich the industry in Crossroads Region.
The Crossroads region's transportation and location across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee, has made the region an attractive place for transportation and distribution companies to locate.
The Crossroads region is also has a strong agriculture heritage due to the presence of rich alluvial soil and its location near the Mississippi River. Agriculture is still a major industry and leading crops produced by the region include soybeans, cotton, rice, and sweet potatoes.
The Crossroads Coalition is a catalyst for continuing improvement of prosperity, opportunity, and other quality of life considerations such as: employment, housing, education, health care, recreation, and the national environment in the Region. The regional approach will not only increase industry and work force it will allow all communities in the region to compete and prosper on a global level.