94 ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ´«Ã½ÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾ÍøÕ¾ has so much going for it .... But if we’re honest, we have our challenges, too,… South ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ´«Ã½ÓÐÏÞ¹«Ë¾ÍøÕ¾ continues to see demographic trends that rightfully scare us all, and the jobs lost in the Great Recession have returned at a rate that is far behind other parts of the state. All that has led a well-regarded economic think-tank to label all but two of the counties in our assigned 41-county region as ‘distressed.’ — DR. RICHARD A. CARVAJAL “ “