Billye Carter

WEDN 2023 Round Up

Learn and Lead 2023 was a huge success! A strong program and widespread support from the economic development community resulted in record attendance. From handling conflict to emerging industry sectors to equitable economic development, the WEDN program offered key takeaways for everyone. The program kicked off with a workshop on Handling Conflict. Led by Mark …

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Thinking Like an Anywhereist

If You Could Live Anywhere by Melody Warnick – A Must Read for Economic Developers If you could live anywhere, where would you live? That question used to fall into the same category as “what would you do if you won the lottery?” or “if you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who …

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Moore County Designated a Certified Entrepreneurial Community®

Moore County earned the designation of Certified Entrepreneurial Community® in July 2022. The initiative was sparked during a feasibility study to redevelop a building into an entrepreneurship hub. That project uncovered assets and opportunities to grow the small but burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem in Moore County. Entrepreneurship can be a key economic development strategy for Moore …

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Alamance Partners in Progress-A Model for Engagement

Elected, local government, and business leaders are critical to advancing economic development policies and projects. However, most of these leaders do not work day-to-day in economic development. It is important for EDOs to inform local leaders of trends, changes in policy, challenges, and opportunities. The recent Alamance Chamber Partners in Progress event is a good …

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Why Childcare Should be an Economic Development Priority

When companies take a look at potential sites for expansions or when entrepreneurs explore potential for starting a business, one of the top considerations is the labor market. In today’s current market the available workforce is limited, thanks in part to a strong economy and an historically low unemployment rate of 3.6%. However, there’s a …

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Creative Economic Development Consulting Celebrates 10 Years in Business

Creative Economic Development Consulting is celebrating 10 years in business. Over the last 10 years, we have added expert talent, launched innovative services, developed creative strategies, given back to the field, and endeavored to become the “go-to” economic development firm. What has stayed constant is our commitment to serving our clients and the profession. We …

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Offshore Wind: A New Source for Economic Growth in VA, NC, and SC 

An innovative, new and growing industry sector is set to impact North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia in the coming years presenting increased opportunities for new manufacturing establishments, new careers and employment growth and diversification of the economic base with increased scientific and energy activities. The global market for offshore wind has been growing 24% …

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Developing the Ag Cluster in Southwest Virginia

Emory & Henry College engaged Creative EDC to study how their new School of Business can drive growth in the agriculture sector in Southwest Virginia and become a hub of innovation. The college has long been a strategic partner of economic development organizations, local governments, nonprofits, and businesses. They want to leverage Emory & Henry’s …

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WEDN 2022 Round Up

The theme of this year’s forum was COVID Accelerated Everything – What’s Next? We dove into how COVID has impacted industrial real estate, entrepreneurship, city planning, family friendly workplace policies, and a host of other topics. This year we gave out copies of Adam Grant’s book Think Again. It is apropos given our theme and …

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NCEDA 2022 Local Incentives Survey

The North Carolina Economic Development Association and Creative Economic Development Consulting surveyed local economic development agencies across North Carolina to gauge the usage and terms for incentives for economic development. The findings were compared to a 2011 study to see how incentive policy has changed in the state. The results of this study can be …

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Wage Measures 201 –Educating Community Stakeholders on this Important Metric

One of an economic developer’s roles is to educate local officials on economic development principles, best practices, and trends. We have had some discussions lately on how to help local officials understand the different wage metrics that can be used for incentive and grant programs. The terms average wage, manufacturing wage, poverty wage, and living …

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Shifting Metrics Describe Your Talent Pipeline

In the late twentieth century when economic development was becoming professionalized, a community might have one sheet of paper describing its ‘workforce’ which would be shared with prospects and clients. Key indicators like Total Labor Force, Unemployment Rate, and % of Workforce with a High School Diploma would be featured. It might also include a …

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