A plaque was unveiled recognizing those organizations, companies and individuals that donated money to purchase a building for the North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies in Hickory. The fundraising efforts were undertaken by the Future Forward Economic Alliance, and specifically former Congressman Cass Ballenger and BB&T Senior VP Phil Walker. These efforts led to commitments of $1.7 million dollars to purchase and renovate the 52,000 sq. ft. building.

Classes officially began in January 2008 with 40 students enrolling in Western Carolina University’s Engineering Technology bachelor’s degree program. Appalachian State University is serving as the Center’s fiscal agent.

Click on the picture for full-size image.

More information about Statesville and Iredell County can be found here and here.

The Future Forward Economic Alliance held its last meeting on Tuesday, March 4th at the NCCET in Hickory. Presentations were given about the NCCET operations, the entrepreneurial efforts being led by the Advantage West Economic Development Group and several collaborative workforce efforts currently underway in the region.

The next meeting of the Future Forward Economic Alliance will be held in September in Mitchell County

The Future Forward Economic Alliance will hold its next quarterly meeting at the Pinebridge Inn in Spruce Pine on Tuesday, September 25th. The meeting will begin at 10:30 AM and adjourn around 1:00 PM.

Directions to the Pinebridge Inn can be found here.

If you plan on attending, please contact Dana Lingerfelt at the Western Piedmont Council of Governments by phone (828-485-4221) or E-mail at dana.lingerfelt@wpcog.org

More information about Mitchell County can be found here.

State Workforce Challenges Discussed at Region C's Joint Regional Forum in August

Paul Combs, a member of the Future Forward Economic Alliance, discussed the NC Workforce Commission's recent "State of the North Carolina Workforce" report at the Joint Regional Forum in Lake Lure. The presentation addressed not only the relationship between economic development and workforce development, but also many of the key trends that will be affecting the state's workforce over the coming decade.

This full presentation can be found here.

The entire State of North Carolina Workforce report can be downloaded here.

The Future Forward Economic Alliance held its last meeting at the North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies

The Future Forward Economic Alliance held its last quarterly meeting on Tuesday, March 13th at the North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies in Hickory. Duane Dunlap and Bill McDaniel of Western Carolina University gave a presentation describing some of the programs that will be offered at the Engineering Center. Even though the Engineering Center will not be officially open for use until this fall, the region's demand for engineering-related training has led WCU to begin offering these prgrams through the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center.

The full agenda for the last Future Forward meeting can be found here.

Future Forward Economic Alliance welcomes new members to its board and executive committee

With the start of the new year, the Future Forward Economic Alliance has added new members to both its executive committee and its executive board. Pete Miller from Catawba County will serve as the Future Forward Chairperson in 2007.

A complete listing of the board membership can be found here.

Western Piedmont COG releases study about the growth of subdivisions within the 12-county Future Forward region

A recent study conducted by the Western Piedmont COG shows that the region will experience rapid growth in sub-division development, particularly in the Mountains and along the Catawba River Basin and Lake Lure. More information about the study can be found here.

Information about new Certified Sites in Alexander and Rutherford counties

In addition to the four site certifications completed last year, the Future Forward Economic Alliance completed two more industrial site certifications in Alexander and Rutherford Counties. These sites include:

• The Railroad Site in Alexander County
• The Riverstone Business Park in Rutherford County

The FFEA also selected the site for the development of a mixed-use megasite. This megasite will be located along Interstate 40 on the Burke-McDowell county line.

More detailed information about these sites, and the region's other recently certified sites, can be found here.

Future Forward Economic Alliance held last meeting in North Wilkesboro on Tuesday, December 12th

The Future Forward Economic Alliance met on Tuesday, December 12th at the Stone Family Performing Arts Center in North Wilkesboro.

In addition the updates of Future Forward's activities, the Western Piedmont Council of Governments gave a presentation showing trends in building permits and sub-division development within the 12-county Future Forward region. That presentation is available here. A map of the region's sub-division development is available here, and information about sub-divisions in each county is available here.

Key Strategies Identified

At the last meeting of the Future Forward Economic Alliance in Boone, the board identified several priority action items. These action items were drawn from a longer list of potential actions first identified following the March 2006 retreat in Spindale. From these action items, several were identified as being high priority action items. The high priority actions include:

• Renovate the future North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies facility for customized education and training uses
• Strengthen the Higher Education Coordinating Council (HECC)
• Design a regional entrepreneurial development strategy with support from a network of area service providers
• Support and engage with Appalachian State University’s Annual Leadership Summit

A detailed description of these priority action items and other items that the FFEA will look to address over the coming year can be found in the memo here.

Future Forward Economic Alliance completes certification of several sites throughout the region

Working in conjunction with McGill Associates, and the region's economic developers, the Future Forward Economic Alliance completed the first of several site certifications. These sites will support industrial development throughout the region. The first of these sites to complete the certification process includes:

1. The Indian Creek Industrial Park in Lincoln County
2. The Stillwell Industrial Site in Burke County
3. The Burke Industrial Park on Kathy Road in Burke County
4. The West Farm Industrial Site in Statesville in Iredell County

More detailed information about each of these sites can be found here.

Sites in Alexander and Rutherford County are also going through the certification process. More information about these sites will become available once these sites are completed.

The Future Forward Economic Alliance Seeks to Expand its Membership

The Future Forward Economic Alliance provides an opportunity for people in 12 Western North Carolina Counties (Alexander, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln, McDowell, Mitchell, Rutherford, Watauga & Wilkes) to work in collaboration with the region's leaders and thinkers in order to create a more sustainable economy. To date, the Future Forward Economic Alliance has proven to be an effective forum in which to discuss, and find potential solutions for, the important educational, transportation, business development and environmental challenges facing the region.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Future Forward Economic Alliance, membership information can be found here