Friday was a day of good news for Mount Airy and Surry County, when Awesome Products Inc. announced it will be putting a manufacturing plant in the former Bassett Furniture plant here, with an anticipated 140 jobs to be created.

Actually, the announcement that a new firm was coming to the area, with 140 jobs, had already been widely known, but Friday we learned the name of the firm, and the area received a bigger boost of good news when Awesome President L.D. Hardas said he would eventually like to grow the facility to employee at least 300 people.

What was particularly heartening in the details was hearing all that had to be worked out in order for this to happen. Naturally, city and county officials, along with the Surry County Economic Development Partnership, worked hard to accommodate the various needs of the firm.

In this particular case, the company needed access to strong transportation, which meant getting a railway spur to the plant location reopened. State Rep. Sarah Stevens, a Mount Airy Republican, and State Sen. Shirley Randleman, a Wilkesboro Republican, were both instrumental in bringing that about.

Everyone who ever runs for office, from the proverbial dog catcher all the way up to governor, claims bringing jobs to an area is priority No. 1. Most of the time candidates for public office say that because it’s what they are supposed to say, even if they have no idea how to go about fulfilling that promise.

Friday’s announcement, however, coupled with similar announcements in recent weeks, shows local city, county and state representatives are taking that commitment seriously and, it appears, are doing their part to rebuild the local economy.