Wilkes Economic Development Corporation

We enjoyed kicking off NCEDA's Fall Conference with NC Carolina Core's Trivia/Oktoberfest Reception! It was great seeing and meeting more of our regional assets.

Congratulations to Omega Construction, Inc. on being recognized as the #2 fastest-growing privately owned business. We’re proud to have worked with them on the Wilkes Commercial Business Center and excited to see their continued success!

A worthwhile event was held today at High Point University: the Carolina Core Housing Summit. NC Association of REALTORS® and 11 local REALTOR associations in the Core commissioned the "Carolina Core Housing Needs Assessment" study, which was released. The assessment by Bowen National Research provides a starting point for the 11 REALTOR associations to work with their respective elected officials, other decision makers, and community leaders to find ways to address housing needs today as well as the anticipated needs over the next several years. Speakers included Patrick Bowen, Kirk deViere, Marvette Artis, Doug Copeland, and Loren Hill. Attending were real estate professionals from those 11 associations, elected officials, and business/community leaders. NC Carolina Core economic developers in attendance were: --(first row) Robert Van Geons of Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation, LeeAnn Nixon of Wilkes Economic Development Corporation, Cyndi Dancy of Dancy Consulting, Brantley Craft of High Point Economic Development, and Brent Christensen of Greensboro Chamber of Commerce; --(second row) Penny Whiteheart of Piedmont Triad Partnership, Todd Tucker, CEcD of Sanford Area Growth Alliance, Montana Brown of City of Reidsville - Economic and Community Development, Phillip Thompson and Jack Pendergraph of Chatham Economic Development Corporation, Loren Hill of Piedmont Triad Partnership, Kevin Franklin of Randolph County NC Economic Development Corporation, Taylor J. Hutchins of Greensboro Chamber, and Kevin Szostak of Alamance Chamber. The 11 local associations that commissioned the study are Longleaf Pine REALTORS®, Greensboro Regional REALTORS Association, Winston-Salem Regional Association of REALTORS®, High Point Regional Association of REALTORS, Burlington Alamance County, Johnston County Association of REALTORS®, Central Carolina, Mid Carolina Regional, Durham Regional, Orange Chatham Association of Realtors®, and Raleigh Regional.

Today's "Chatter with BNC" podcast features Thomas Salley, TMP, the President of Visit Wilkes, NC. Salley talks to Ben Kinney about his career journey so far, what's new in Wilkes County, the importance of customer service, and more. https://lnkd.in/gh77nBMA

We had the pleasure of working with Times Treasured Studios LLC to capture this beautiful photo for the front cover of our Annual Report and website homepage. Times Treasured Studios owner Heather Cardwell shares in the post below the meaning of this view when returning to their home in Wilkes County. We could not agree more with this meaning. #WhyWilkes We enjoyed working with many local talents leading up to and during our Annual Meeting. Click here to see pictures and more from our Annual Meeting: https://lnkd.in/ecB6MBr8

We are ecstatic to share that our website was a Gold Winner for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Excellence in Economic Development Awards in the General Purpose Website category! Wilkes EDC worked with local marketing firm Logan Provisions to update our website and enhance users' experience. Visit our award-winning website today to learn more about our organization and to view our latest Annual Report: https://lnkd.in/dMw5WkBA

Wilkes EDC held its Annual Meeting at Fussell Estate on Tuesday! We recognized our Board Directors and our Public/Private investors. We thanked event Sponsors: Frontier Natural Gas Company , Surry-Yadkin EMC, Engineering Consulting Services, Spectrum Hospitality Management LLC, Visit Wilkes, NC, and NC Carolina Core ! We enjoyed hearing from our guest speakers, sharing project announcements, recognizing our entrepreneur grant recipients, and sharing about the upcoming Downtown Boro's Grant Program, sponsored by Duke Energy Corporation Foundation. Our meeting concluded with an update on housing and childcare. You can find more information from our presentation in our Annual Report, which is now available on our website: https://lnkd.in/dMw5WkBA (more photos to come) The EDC staff would like to thank everyone involved in making this event a success! Venue - Fussell Estate Catering - The Scarlet Hen Beverages - Raffaldini Vineyards And Winery LLC & TwoBoros Brewery & Just One More Mobile Bartending Sound - Kardia Sounds Photographer - Hannah Crow Photography Flowers - Buds & Bows Floral Midtown Garden Market Bows - City Florist of Wilkes Awards - Creative LaZer Designs

We are thrilled to be a part of Wilkes County's Outdoor Economy working group! WNC: MADE X MTNS captures our story and more in the video below! #WhyWilkes

We had a wonderful time at last night's Annual Meeting! We appreciate Loren Hill speaking at our event and NC Carolina Core for sponsoring it. Our guests had the opportunity to learn about NC Carolina Core's progress from this year and its future goals. We look forward to sharing more from our event soon!

We were thrilled to connect with fellow regional economic developers! Sharing challenges, discussing best practices, and exchanging advice was incredibly valuable.