NCSE President Yost shares NCSE’s mission for region Page 23
March 18, 2022 - March 31, 2022 Vol. 1, No. 21
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bizfayetteville.com
WEB EXCLUSIVE Record-breaking grant
UNCP receives $2.9M grant from Anonymous Trust credentials bizfayetteville.com
Technology
TechNet event returns for 2022 Page 5
Commercial Real Estate Freedom Town Center sells for $72.5M Page 13
PHOTOS BY HARPER SHACKELFORD
In Bladen County, economic success waits around every corner.
BLADEN COUNTY
Index
Economic Indicators .............................. 3 Publisher’s Note ..................................... 4 Technology .......................................5, 16 Achievers ............................................8,9 Health Care ...................................11, 19 Commercial Real Estate .......................13 Biz Leads .......................................20, 21 Profile ..................................................23
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By Jenna Shackelford
A
t first glance, from the outside looking in, the business community could look at Bladen County and be tempted to say the area is small. And as far as population goes, it is. According to U.S. Census data from 2020, Bladen County has 29,606 residents compared to Cumberland County’s 334,728 residents. Nevertheless, business is booming in Bladen County – or should we say “blooming?” With a mission of “promoting economic development in Bladen County while also reducing burden on the government,” Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-Industrial Inc., headquartered in Elizabethtown, N.C., attracts grants
and industry to the community. In fact, in the years that Chuck Heustess, executive director of the Bladen County’s economic development nonprofit, has been at the helm, the organization has created 2,500 jobs with numerous programs and projects, he told Business North Carolina last year. (Editor’s note: Heustess is set to retire from the role in November of this year.) The hard work has paid off. Last year, the U.S. Economic Development Association awarded Bladen’s Bloomin’ with a $900,000 grant to revitalize the downtown Bladenboro business district, which was hit hard by Hurricanes Florence and Matthew. See BLADEN COUNTY, page 10