Fortune magazine just came out with its annual list of America's biggest corporations. As usual, the Richmond area can claim more than its fair share of big businesses that call our region home. Eight local companies made the Fortune 500, and 14 landed in the Fortune 1000.

Metro Richmond has always boasted far more corporate headquarters than most places its size. Jacksonville, Louisville, Nashville, Hartford, and Memphis don't even come close to matching our totals. Even Charlotte -- often touted as the most dynamic business city in the Southeast -- only equals Richmond in the number of Fortune 500 companies and has one less in the Fortune 1000.

These comparisons are not meaningless. When large corporations choose to stay in Richmond -- or move here, as Altria and MeadWestvaco have recently -- it sends a message across the country that this is a good place to do business. The headquarters give our region financial clout and increase the demand for high-paying jobs that serve the company's needs: lawyers, accountants, bankers, and marketing pros, to name just a few.

Our lofty standing on the Fortune lists should also serve as a reminder of our region's numerous strengths, including a fine quality of life. Corporate executives will not linger in communities that they, their families, and their employees aren't proud to call home.