ROCKINGHAM — The East Coast Economic Partnership’s two-day meeting was a little different from most. There were fast cars, hors d’oeuvres, and drinks in a children’s museum.
Members of EDPNC got to see Richmond County, which is where the board’s head, Gene McLaurin, lives.
“I’m proud to say that this is the first time the state economic development board has ever met in Richmond County,” McLaurin said at a reception at Discovery Place Kids on Wednesday evening. He used to be mayor of Rockingham and is now a state senator for the county.
McLaurin said, “As chair, one of my jobs is to pick where we meet.” “I’ve always thought that rural North Carolina should have at least one meeting a year.”
This year’s talks have already taken place in Boone and Greensboro, and one more is planned for Raleigh.
McLaurin said, “It’s pretty cool that people are here.”
On the list of guests were business recruiters, private investors, people working in current industries, and people who help with tourism and exports.
People who came to the meeting could go on ride-alongs at both Rockingham Dragway and Rockingham Speedway before the gathering.
Some people even drove their own cars down the quarter-mile dragway track while they were there. Karen Lavert, the vice-chair of the board, hit 98 mph.
The ride-alongs at the speedway were put on by Warriors in Motion. “People really enjoyed that,” McLaurin said.
The Berry Patch’s Lee and Amy Berry brought ice cream from “The World’s Largest Strawberry.”
“It’s an amazing place,” said Ben Teague, vice president of strategic development for Biltmore Farms in Asheville. He also praised the friendly people who live there. “It’s a chance to really see all the great things about our state, including hidden gems like Rockingham and Richmond County that we might not normally see.”
Teague said that the time at the dragway was “amazing” and “exhilarating.”
Teague said, “You can see both the speedway and where they’re going.” “And I think it’s really giving people hope for the future.” And you know when it’s going to happen and how it will change people’s lives here, which is exciting.
Teague said he has worked on economic development in several states for many years and has seen how different towns with similar assets have grown.
“And what made the difference almost every time was leadership, vision, and action,” Teague said. This is a great asset thanks to Gene’s guidance. The main goal is for parents to raise their families and keep their kids close so that their kids don’t have to leave to find work and a life of their own.
“Things like Discovery Place are about making the next generation stronger.”
Teague also said that economic development is more than just project wins and capital investment. “Some kid is getting a better Christmas, and somebody is able to make plans for the future that they couldn’t have had before,” he said. For me, that’s where the money goes.
Teague went on, “At the end of the day, economic growth is what makes people’s lives better in this great state, and EDPNC is the tip of that spear.”
Martie Butler, the economic developer for Richmond County, said that she works closely with EDPNC and that the group has helped bring projects to Richmond County, such as the Graceland Portable Buildings plant that was announced Thursday.
Four talks were planned for Thursday at Richmond Community College. They were all about the shell building program, one from a foreign trade group, and one from the state’s Commerce Secretary, Machelle Baker Sanders.
He said that having them here will show that “Richmond County is open and ready for business.”