The body clock was ticking the Monday in advance of the Volkswagen announcement.

Three security checks in three countries and 24 hours from takeoff to touchdown, our feet finally touched Chattanooga ground. The previous three or four days had been a series of e-mail exchanges with the Times Free Press newsroom relating to the Volkswagen decision on a North American facility.

Between trips to the Great Wall and to the Forbidden City in Beijing, the time was spent checking on the latest VW rumor. Reporting on an economic development prospect is similar to running a marathon. You get your place in the field, stay in the pack and when the time comes, break out and eye the finish line.

With unsubstantiated media reports pointing toward the Limestone County, Ala., site, requests from the German automobile manufacturer continued to flow to Tennessee as well as Alabama officials.

The significance of the contacts goes back to the previous courting of Toyota.

In the closing weeks of the Toyota decision process, Chattanooga was deleted from the list of those receiving requests for additional information; Mississippi was not. The Toyota plant went to Tupelo, Miss.

For Tennessee officials this time around, staying in the game — receiving the requests for information throughout the Volkswagen evaluation period — was significant.

Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey described the Volkswagen courtship this way:

“Everybody has land and incentive money; that is the price to get into the game. The intangibles, relationships that develop and the trust and commitment that builds over time are hard to measure but are significant.”

The personal exchanges of messages, documents, photographs and songs are well documented.

Your writer had a jet lag moment last week, writing in this column that Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield had presented the German VW delegation with a translated copy of “The Tennessee Waltz” and that Sen. Lamar Alexander had led a joint team of local and German officials in a rendition of the song.

The song that actually echoed through Sen. Bob Corker’s home and that was embossed on a document from Mayor Littlefield was the “Chattanooga Choo Choo.”

Your writer had the correct state, knew that it was musical in nature and realized that politicians were involved, but missed the final chord — the chugging sound of a locomotive.

But the strains of the “Chattanooga Choo Choo” were heard in Decatur, Ala., hometown to the Limestone County site although Huntsville, Ala., may have annexed the land. The front page of the Decatur Daily on July 16, the day following the Volkswagen announcement of the Chattanooga plant, carried this headline: “Not coming to Limestone.”

A photograph of Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and Commissioner Matt Kisber, of the state’s Economic and Community Development arm, holding the

special edition of the Times Free Press framed the top half of the newspaper.

Limestone County Commission Chairman David Seibert said, “It hurts to lose. I never did like it.”

According to the Decatur Daily, Mr. Seibert is a former football player and coach.

“I know I am partial, but we would have been the better site,” he told the Decatur paper. “But all of this has given us a lot of attention, and that is a good site, and someone will want it.”

To Mr. Seibert, you are right on all counts except one.

Volkswagen officials made a decision based on a number of variables, including the site.

Chattanooga officials know how it feels to come in second at best — Kia, Toyota, a little flirting with Honda, all for naught.

But if you learn from the experiences, you too will know the same feeling that Mr. Ramsey had after 15 long years of hard work.

To reach Tom Griscom, call (423) 757-6472 or e-mail tgriscom@timesfreepress.com.

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