Sokes County Included in 21st Century Community Program

STOKES COUNTY
Economic Development Commission

MEDIA RELEASE

For Release: Immediately

Contact: Alan Wood, Director, Stokes County Economic Development

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(Danbury, NC August 23, 2010) N. C. Department of Commerce Sec. Keith Crisco announced on August 13 that four counties have been selected to participate in the continuation of the 21st Century Communities Program. Stokes County, along with Cleveland, Jones and Pamlico are the new counties.

The Stokes County Economic Development Commission applied for inclusion in this program, which is designed to foster growth in counties that are facing economic challenges to assist them in the development of programs and initiatives that will lead to economic growth. The application process was competitive and Stokes County was chosen from several candidates. The success of the application was in large part due to the support provided by the City of King, Towns of Walnut Cove and Danbury, who each provided a letter of endorsing Stokes County in their efforts to be included in this program. Having 100% of the taxing municipalities willing to participate in this process and the willingness the county has shown to partner regionally was seen as key to this selection.

Jimmy Walker, Chairman of the Stokes County Board of Commissioners was very excited about the inclusion of the county in the program saying “It is difficult to place a monetary value on the return this program will have for Stokes County and its citizens. It will help raise the awareness of the Department of Commerce as to what we have to offer, it should help foster a greater sense of cooperation within the county and it should help us further develop a plan for future growth in our economy.”

Alan Wood, the Director of Economic Development was very pleased with the news and responded with the following “I relish the opportunity to work closely with the Department of Commerce and their Community Assistance arm. Hopefully we can find a way to fine-tune our development efforts. We have many wonderful assets within our borders, we need to learn to work together in more meaningful ways and leverage these assets to our best advantage. I believe this program can assist with this.”




PO Box 20 Danbury, NC 27016 336-593-2496 adwood@co.stokes.nc.us

The 21st Century Communities program will focus on the communities for a period of 24 months. The process starts with a two day orientation session for officials of the selected
communities with the next step being a community assessment. This assessment will look at the strengths and weaknesses of each county and provide recommendations on how to proceed.

The full statement from N.C. Dept of Commerce Sec. Keith Crisco is included below.

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Crisco announces 4 new 21st Century Communities


N.C. Dept. of Commerce Sec. Keith Crisco announced Aug. 13 that four additional counties in North Carolina have been selected to participate in the 21st Century Communities Program. The program, part of Commerce's Division of Community Assistance, fosters economic growth in less prosperous counties by helping them develop innovative economic and community development plans and initiatives. Cleveland, Jones, Pamlico and Stokes counties have been selected are the new counties.

"This two-year program prepares counties to be more competitive in today's challenging economic times," said Crisco. "Through collaboration and partnership, we are able to leverage local resources, strengthen infrastructure and support ongoing workforce and leadership development, ultimately bringing jobs and investment to these counties."