The inaugural Orange County Economic Development Summit presented by Orange County government and the Board of Commissioner will take place on October 17 from 3-7 p.m. with speakers and panelists from around Orange County to discuss business growth, social justice goals and many more topics.
97.9 The Hill WCHL will host the event, with Aaron Keck serving as the moderator for six different topics including “The Nexus of Local Food Systems” and “The Entrepreneurial Economy.” Orange County commissioners and local business owners will be on air to talk about the many facets and players that shape economic development in Orange County.
Ron Stutts had a chance to speak with Orange County Commissioner Penny Rich and Laurie Paolicelli from the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau about the upcoming summit and what listeners can expect from the four-hour broadcast.
“How do we grow things? How do we make sure that businesses come here? What are we doing right, what are we doing wrong? What do we need to change? That’ll all be discussed in an open forum, which is going to be exciting for folks to hear.” – Penny Rich
Last week, Sharon Hill joined Ron Stutts to talk about her role with Orange County Economic Development Advisory Board and the role that the board plays in getting businesses to come to Orange County.
“The role of the board, and what I do, is to work cohesively with the county’s economic development staff and other economic development partners to position Orange County as a competitive location for business opportunities. In other words, to help Orange County prosper in many ways.”
She also spoke with Ron about the different forms that economic development takes, from agriculture and arts to manufacturing and tourism.
“Economic development takes a lot of forms that I don’t think people realize. From supporting entrepreneurs, to giving grants to farmers so they can buy the equipment to raise livestock, and create jobs through for tourism, arts, getting the right manufacturer to come here and create jobs, to giving people the skills to fill those jobs. It’s a lot. And it impacts everyone.”
The public is invited to “turn on their ears” for the first-of-its-kind, live radio broadcast event on 97.9 FM and streaming on chapelboro.com. Follow the conversation on Twitter via #GrowInOrangeNC.
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