NCCBI News
Final Series of
Area Meetings Begin
Chairman
Gordon Myers this month will lead the NCCBI staff down the homestretch
of the 22 fall membership meetings, with a swing through the West and
an extended trip through the Piedmont. Please check the calendar below
for the dates and locations of the remaining Area Meetings, and plan
to attend the one in your town. If you haven’t already registered,
please call us at 919-836-1400 and tell us about your plans so we can
have a name badge waiting for you.
Upcoming are a breakfast meeting in Boone and a luncheon in Hickory on
the 18th, followed on the 24th with a breakfast meeting in Asheville
and a luncheon in Charlotte. There will be a reception in Gastonia on
the 24th, followed the next day with a breakfast in Concord, a
luncheon in Salisbury and a reception in Asheboro. This month’s
schedule concludes on the 29th with a luncheon at Elon University and
a reception in Pinehurst.
The Area Meeting tour got off to a bang on Sept. 5 with the Triangle
event at the Angus Barn restaurant, which was attended by 332 members
and guests. It was a full day, with the luncheon preceded by the
quarterly meeting of the Executive Committee as well as a meeting of
the Small Business Advisory Board. Pictures from those meetings are in
this month’s issue of the magazine. Next month we will have pictures
from the meetings in High Point, Winston-Salem, Greensboro and
Statesville.
With Myers, the Ingles Markets executive, in the lead, the NCCBI staff
then departed for a reception at the Wilson Country Club attended by
45 members and guests. The next day, an enthusiastic crowd of 53
turned out for the Elizabeth City Area Meeting.
In his report to members, Chairman Myers discusses his focus on
workforce training and the critical link it plays in economic
development. “At no point in my experience in economic development
has workforce preparedness been more central than it is today,” he
says.
“In recent months I have learned a lot about what we are doing in
North Carolina for workforce preparedness,” Myers continues. “You
might be surprised to find out that we spend a huge amount on
workforce development. Unfortunately, we don’t allocate those funds
in anything resembling a unified, coordinated way. In fact, our
workforce development programs are spread out across eight different
departments or state government. Millions of state and federal dollars
are spent each year in this manner. If we are to adequately address
the workforce crisis facing North Carolina, we have to get serious
about consolidating these programs.”
Myers also says the state should search for new ideas in how to
promote economic development. “As business people, we do what we
need to do each day to stay competitive. The same must apply to our
economic development programs, many of what have remained unchanged
for the past 20 years. Other states already have begun doing this. In
fact, Virginia and South Carolina — two states we compete directly
against for new jobs and investment — have moved toward privatizing
their economic development operations. As such, they are very
effective at leveraging public and private resources in promoting
their states, developing product, closing the deal on new industrial
projects and supporting expansions of their existing industries.”
With the General Assembly still deadlocked in Raleigh over the state
budget, NCCBI President Phil Kirk couldn’t give his usual fall
report on what the legislature had accomplished. He explained how the
association’s Executive Committee, concerned that the state’s
ongoing revenue problems and budget difficulties would cause North
Carolina to lose its Triple A credit rating, had voted unanimously to
support a penny increase in the sales tax.
Small Business
Board to Focus On Four Public Policy Issues
NCCBI’s
Small Business Advisory Board has decided to concentrate its efforts
on establishing legislative positions on four critical public policy
issues — health care, education of the workforce, economic
incentives, and tax issues. Led by Chairman Steve Zaytoun of Cary, the
board decided to focus on those issues during a meeting on Sept. 5 at
the Angus Barn in Raleigh. The meeting was held in conjunction
with the Triangle Area Meeting.
In addition, the board received briefings on legislative issues from
Leslie Bevacqua, vice president of governmental affairs. She discussed
the legislative outlook and the current budget situation.
Eleven new members were welcomed to the 50-member Small Business
Advisory Board: Chuck Allen of Goldsboro, “Bo” Biggs of Lumberton,
Wayne Burton of Mount Airy, John Daniel III of Sanford, Linda
Gilleland of Boone, Richard Gordon of Statesville, Earl Harper of
Kinston, Shearin Johnson of Rocky Mount, Sherrol Lappala of Raleigh,
Robert Palmes of Statesville, and Burr Sullivan of Thomasville.
The next meeting of the small business board will be in Charlotte on
Dec. 12 at the Bank of America building.
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