NCCBI News


Causby Honored with Jay Robinson Award
Jim Causby, Ph.D., superintendent of the Johnston County Public Schools and a member of the NCCBI Board of Directors, is the third recipient of the Jay Robinson Leadership Award. Co-sponsored by the Public School Forum of North Carolina and Wachovia, the award was presented to Causby last month during ceremonies in Raleigh. NCCBI President Phil Kirk chairs the awards committee and presented the award to the veteran school superintendent, who is retiring at the end of the year. The honor comes with a $5,000 gift. The award is named for the late Jay Robinson, whose career as an education leader in North Carolina spanned 50 years.

Economic Development Committee: Watts Carr, chair of the state Economic Development Board’s recruitment and retention committee, briefed members of the NCCBI Economic Development Committee. Other speakers at the June 5 meeting were Don Hobart, legal counsel and legislative liaison with the N.C. Department of Commerce; and Stephanie McGarrah, policy analyst and Economic Development Board liaison with the Commerce Department. Both discussed legislative issues their groups are following this session. NCBEST consultant Steve Meehan gave an update on the initiative and recent findings of a study that focuses on the tax burden in the state and how it compares with other states. NCBEST is an arm of NCCBI designed to increase public awareness about the importance of having efficient government operations and policies and programs favorable to job creation. Updates on NCBEST are at our website: www.nccbi.org/ncbest.

Education Committee: Representatives from various levels of education in North Carolina provided updates to the NCCBI Education Committee on June 2. As the legislature battles the budget crisis, education advocates are having to work even harder for funding. Speakers were Linda Suggs, legislative director for the State Board of Education; Suzanne Williams, assistant to the president for government relations with the N.C. Community College System; J.B. Milliken, senior vice president for university affairs with the University of North Carolina; Andy Willis, assistant to the chancellor for external affairs at N.C. State University; and Tim McDowell, director of government relations for N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities. Myra Best, director of the NC Network, provided an update on the Business and Education Technology Alliance and legislation proposed by Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue related to teacher recruitment and retention. Leslie Bevacqua, NCCBI vice president of governmental affairs, provided an overview of other legislative issues that NCCBI is working on in the area of education, including a bill supporting a constitutional amendment to make the Superintendent of Public Instruction an appointed position.

IBM Donates Subscriptions: IBM and NCCBI have joined together in a partnership to provide a one-year subscription to the North Carolina magazine to approximately 250 site selection consultants from across the country. In a letter signed by Barry Eveland, Vice President of Operations for IBM, and Phil Kirk, they wrote, “We believe there will be a lot of interesting news coming out of North Carolina over the next year on economic incentives. We want you to be among the first to know when these policy initiatives emerge.”


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