We have it all in Middle Tennessee. Green Hills and a Great Workforce in Rutherford County, Tennessee I magine rolling hills, green fields, sparkling streams and lakes – right next to plentiful housing, an educated, skilled workforce and a friendly community – and you've conjured up Rutherford County, Tennessee.    Just 15 minutes southeast from Nashville, Rutherford County has a low crime rate, strong historic preservation, friendly neighbors, diverse housing base and a great lifestyle.    "The workforce here is easy to recruit and easy to retain," said Byron Smith, Executive Vice President with Asurion, a major telecommunications employer that got its start in Silicon Valley and now has 5,000 employees worldwide. Asurion established significant operations in Rutherford County in 2002 and ultimately moved its corporate headquarters to middle Tennessee from San Francisco.    Smith added, "… and the fact that we have a high quality large university makes a big difference. It's an anchor for quality of life." Smith is talking about Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), the state's largest public undergraduate university located in Murfreesboro. Key central location means access to entertainment, professional sports    It's largely about location; Rutherford County lies between Nashville and Chattanooga within a day's drive of 75 percent of the U.S. population.    You can be up the road in 20 minutes to an NFL Titans game, a NHL Predators clash or Nashville Superspeedway race on the area's expansive interstate system.    And Rutherford County isn't next door to Music City, USA, for nothing. The $2B music industry spawns a diverse wealth of music venues and performances. Workforce is growing, drawn by balanced lifestyle and strong housing base    Daily, more than 35,000 highly skilled workers stream to jobs in Nashville – but they'd rather work nearer their homes.    "Byron Smith is right: Rutherford County has a ready- made work force," says Holly Sears, Economic Development Director, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. "Our citizens are highly skilled and highly educated." Sports, recreation, shopping, history abound    Outdoor sports, recreation and shopping boom in Rutherford County. Murfreesboro has an extensive greenway system along the Stones River, and recently opened a $13M state- of- the- art soccer complex and park. Smyrna has walking trails, a growing seven- mile greenway system, and a new splash park. Twenty- two miles of Percy Priest Lake shoreline put fishing, swimming, boating and hiking right at La Vergne's front door.    Historic tourism is a growth industry, with plentiful Civil War sites, battlefields and historic homes to visit and enjoy.    Under construction is an 800,000- square- foot lifestyle retail development, The Avenue Murfreesboro, heralded as one- of- a- kind in the Southeast. Smyrna also is experiencing a retail explosion of nearly 1 million square feet along key route Sam Ridley Parkway, bringing more shopping and restaurants to the area.