Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Random Ramblings

Our web building program continues to move forward. Samantha Martin, the intern that does all the work is doing a great job. The sites look better and better as the companies become more comfortable with how to update them and what the capabilities are. I invite you to visit Town and Country Restaurants site http://www.townandcountryrest.com/index.php and Walnut Cove Furniture's site as examples of what the is happening on this front. We have almost 80 sites either complete or in process. There have been a few bumps in the road but these have been addressed and I believe we are making a difference.

The Economic Development Board and I have just completed our priorities for the upcoming year. We have maintained our 4 areas of concentrations: Business Retention and Expansion, Business Recruitment, Entrepreneurial Development and Tourism as objectives. The board will be heavily involved in working with me to identify and gain control of an industrial site or sites, develop and implement a tourism master-plan as well as looking for ways to be of assistance to our existing businesses. It is an aggressive plan that will build upon the work of the last 12 months.

As a part of these efforts, we have applied to the NC Department of Commerce to be included in the 21st Century Communities Program. If successful, this will raise the county's profile with the Department of Commerce, assist us in refining our planning, point us to where potential partners are located and improve our opportunity to leverage State grants when the opportunities arise. The application was submitted on May 19th and the selected counties will be notified this fall.

If we are successful, we will hold a series of interviews with local elected officials, school officials, business people, students, working citizens in several industries, farmers and others to develop a profile of what is available and what is needed. I will keep you updated as soon as there is further news. Keep your fingers crossed.

The music event at Jomeokee was wonderful. The music was great, the food was good, the crowds were very well behaved and the Stokes County Arts Council should be very proud of the results. Can's wait til next year.

Our new Stokes County Visitors Guide is nearing completion. I think it is something we will be proud of and will be a great marketing tool. When combined with our new tourism website that is under construction, we will soon have more and better information available. Stay tuned for additional details.

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