Editorial


Sue Cole

From the moment she was installed as NCCBI chair last year, Sue Cole downplayed the fact that she was the first woman to lead the state chamber in its 62-year history. “I don’t get focused on this ‘first’ stuff because I think there’s too much at stake,” she said in these pages one year ago. “I just want to make sure that I do a good job so I will not be the last woman in this role.”

Even from this short perspective, it can assuredly be said that Sue Cole achieved her objectives. She did do a good job leading the organization. She certainly will not be the last woman in the top volunteer spot.

Many might have assumed that Cole would lead NCCBI in new directions. After all, she did state the obvious in noting that “the image of North Carolina — and thus NCCBI — over the years has been that of a more conservative, white-male environment.” But Cole knew she was stepping into the spotlight at a critical moment for North Carolina’s economy, when tens of thousands of jobs in our traditional industries were disappearing. Rather than seeking to advance any personal goals, Cole, one of the most empathetic people we know, chose to focus on the larger good of the state.

She convened a special meeting of the association’s Executive Committee to assess how NCCBI could best help North Carolina through its economic transition. From that meeting emerged a three-pronged public policy agenda centered on economic development, lower taxes and government efficiency.

When some Easley Administration officials resisted NCCBI’s advice on improving economic development policies, Cole initiated a series of informal meetings with Cabinet secretaries to exchange ideas. As a result of those meetings, light, not heat, emerged from the friction between the two camps.

By fall, Gov. Easley was publicly agreeing with NCCBI on reducing corporate income taxes, the House Select Committee on Economic Development was hearing testimony on sharpening the state’s economic development efforts, and three separate agencies were preparing reports to the General Assembly on ways to improve government efficiency.

Sue Cole did not set out to make her mark on NCCBI. She deflected attention toward the greater needs of her state. For that she has earned our admiration and a special place in the hearts of the NCCBI family.

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