February 24, 2003

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Economist kicks off study of northwest N.C.

Economic consultant Angelos Angelou told about 200 citizens and government officials from an eight-county area that economic development in the area would be a "marathon, not a sprint."

Angelou's firm, Angelou Economics, has been hired to perform a study of the eight-county Northwest North Carolina region, which comprises Forsyth, Ashe, Alleghany, Davie, Rockingham, Surry, Stokes and Yadkin counties.

The Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments, which is spearheading the effort, held a kickoff event Monday at the M.C. Benton Convention Center in downtown Winston-Salem.

The economic consultants are just beginning the process of analyzing the region to find its strengths and weaknesses in economic development, with a plan of action to come by October.

"If you're only playing in the field of incentives, you're not going to win," Angelou told the crowd. "No community's going to win that way."

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Angelou's hour-long presentation focused on some of the demographics of the region, with the consultant paying attention to the fact it was an aging community. "I don't see a lot of young faces in this room," he said. "Steps must be taken now to bring young people into the economy and empower them." He said that companies typically look at the 25-45-year-old demographic when selecting sites for relocation or expansion.

Thirty-four percent of the population being in that range is a good threshold for technology companies to locate in an area, he said. The eight counties have about 29 percent of the population in that age range.

In a survey completed thus far by 238 people, including 88 businesses, the top area of concern among both businesses and citizens was K-12 education, with government leadership also showing up on the top five of both lists. Angelou hopes to eventually have more than 1,500 respondents to the survey, which is available, along with an overview of the project, at http://www.northwestnc.com./

Over the next 10 days, representatives of Angelou Economics will meet with government leaders and businesses in the eight counties to more accurately determine the strengths and weaknesses.

Amy Holloway, vice president of the firm, who is the project leader, said the firm hopes to create marketing themes for economic development in the region and "provide realistic steps for attracting and expanding high-impact business."

The money to hire Angelou Economics was provided by $300,000 in federal funding that was matched by funds from Forsyth County, said Matthew Dolge, the director of the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments.

Angelou Economics, based in Austin, Texas, has worked with cities including Richmond, Va., Huntsville, Ala., and Orlando, Fla., as well as with the states of Texas and New York.