FOLEY — The direction of Baldwin County’s future was the topic of the day Thursday when former Gov. Bob Riley spoke to the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce Leadership Luncheon.

More specifically, Riley challenged South Baldwin, along with the rest of the county, to work with another in attracting industries to the Gulf Coast.

“The two counties working together will give you the strength that, otherwise, you will never have,” the former governor said in his address at the Foley Civic Center.

One parallel between Baldwin and Mobile is the lifestyle indigenous to the Gulf Coast, which Riley determined to be an ideal selling point to industry.

“The lifestyle you have here is second to none,” the 52nd Alabama governor said.

With that in mind, he reiterated the idea of the two counties working together.

“I want you to begin thinking of yourself as a region,” Riley said.

He explained that doing so would set the area up to take advantage of pending changes.

“We’re about to see the revitalization of manufacturing in the American South,” Riley told attendees Thursday.

He pointed to the automobile industry, which has already set down roots in the region, and Alabama in particular.

“Twelve years ago, we didn’t make an automobile in Alabama,” Riley said. “You’re about to see the same thing in aviation and aerospace.”

The two-term governor harkened back to the recent announcement by Airbus.

“There are only two companies that build big planes, Boeing and Airbus,” Riley said. “Boeing moved to South Carolina, and Airbus is moving to Mobile.”

The former governor said South Baldwin will benefit from that move.

“It’s going to give us opportunities we didn’t know we had,” Riley said.

To prepare for those opportunities, the former governor suggested using Restore funding.

“The two counties are going to share Restore funding,” Riley said, adding that they should “not compete on economic-development projects. Regionalism is something you should embrace.”

But he did point to one area that would be ideal for a competitive environment between the neighboring counties.

“If you’re going to compete with Mobile County, complete with Mobile in education,” Riley suggested.