Last month Intuit celebrated the opening of its new 240,000 square foot data center in Quincy, Washington, not far from large data centers built by Yahoo and Microsoft. Intuit President and CEO Brad Smith visited Quincy to celebrate the official opening, but some of the most interesting comments at the ceremony were from local officials discussing how the arrival of large data center projects has affected Quincy, once a small farming town of 5,000 people. “Not that long ago, Quincy was like most small communities in the state, trying desperately to make ends meet in a time of reduced revenues,” says Quincy Mayor Jim Hemberry in this video of the event posted by the Grant County Economic Development Council. “It was difficult to provide the essential services needed for our community, and we could only dream of major capital improvements. Then, for whatever reason, Quincy was discovered. The revenues generated by Intuit and other new construction allowed our dreams to become a reality, and the city was able to complete several projects to improve the quality of life for our citizens.”