Business North Carolina March 2026

POWER TOWER POWER

keynotes the state’s robust hospital industry. Atrium Health’s Charlotte expansion keynotes the robust industry.

Situated along North Carolina’s Inner Banks, Occano is a golf lover’s dream. With an award-winning Arnold Palmer Signature golf experience, featuring 11 holes that overlook the Albemarle Sound, Occano is your go-to destination to play, stay, and embrace the serene coastal lifestyle.

+ DEPARTMENTS

4 UP FRONT

6 POWER LIST INTERVIEW

Former Charlotte Hornets President and minority owner Fred Whitfield discusses building strong fan support despite tough results on the court.

8 NC TREND

Indoor golf scores with more players; Cheek’s journey from Olympic glory to aiding startups; UNC Charlotte professor attacks water purification; N.C. utility regulator adds an industry expert; AI’s impact on N.C. tech jobs; A Belk family entrepreneur; Meeting economic pledges.

23 RURAL ROUTE

A Mars Hill outdoor vehicle business proves life-changing for folks facing paralysis or serious injuries.

88

BRICK + MORTAR

Kuhowi Observation Tower is a destination of the highest order in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

+ SPONSORED SECTIONS

26 COMMUNITY COLLEGES

58 community colleges bring workforce training within a 30-minute drive of almost all North Carolina residents, while making higher education more accessible than ever.

62

NC TRAVEL

America’s 250th birthday provides a redwhite-and-blue celebration of historical landmarks from the mountains to the coast.

70 FARMING

N.C.’s Farm to School program helps students get fresh and nutritious meals while offering farmers a ready customer base.

84 COMMUNITY CLOSE-UP: ROWAN & CABARRUS COUNTIES

Two counties see economic benefits from large labor pools, but still keep their small-town identities.

STORY

BEST HOSPITALS

Duke University Hospital and UNC Health Rex top BNC’s annual rankings, plus a list of patients’ favorites and updates on healthcare projects across the state.

BY DAVID MILDENBERG AND KEVIN ELLIS

MED SCHOOL PARTNERS

Cape Fear Valley Health and Methodist University welcome their first medicalschool class in July, promising to boost southeastern North Carolina’s economy.

BY KEVIN ELLIS

DIVERSE DEVELOPMENT

A Triad nonprofit plans a unique housing development that celebrates people’s differences.

BY TUCKER MITCHELL

UP FRONT David Mildenberg

MTIDE TURNING?

arch Madness is the best time of the year for college basketball fans, and this year’s tournaments promise to be no exception.

Madness extends beyond the court in issues more profound than hoops, however, prompting some head-scratching on various issues. Examples for this correspondent include the following:

• A widespread public consensus that U.S. immigration enforcement needed reform was torn apart by federal officials’ inept management, excessive force and ignorance of basic constitutional protections. An issue with bipartisan support in the 2024 elections became an opportunity for Democrats to gain majorities in Congress later this year.

• Soaring costs for healthcare are making insurance policies unaffordable for many individuals and businesses, prompting greater reliance on government-sponsored Obamacare. When federal lawmakers sought to rein in costs through stricter eligibility measures, many lawmakers expressed outrage. Those leaders remain mostly mute as the insurance and hospital industries consolidate and unleash unprecedented capital spending. Meanwhile, costs of care and insurance soar at double the core inflation rate. Is it that complicated to connect M&A and expansions, which are detailed in this month’s report on North Carolina hospitals, with higher healthcare costs and bills?

• North Carolinians are spending $700 million a month on sports betting, two years after its legalization. A $1 billion casino is opening this month in Cleveland County; another massive operation is bubbling in Robeson County. Gambling is an entertainment choice that provides economic benefits to some Native American tribes and state tax coffers, while shifting discretionary spending from other areas. Does anyone doubt that there will be inevitable negative impacts from this surge in gambling? Is the “make-aquick-buck” culture sustainable?

Those are hot topics of the day. Perhaps a more important, long-term head-scratcher is the growing support for “socialism,” highlighted by an Axios-Generation Lab poll in November. It found that 67% of U.S. college students have a positive or neutral view of the word “socialism,” compared with 40% with the word “capitalism.”

The poll was released days before Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, highlighting the disillusionment of younger generations over economic trends. Three months later, the mayor, who identifies as a Democratic Socialist, is fulfilling his pledge to favor those of lesser means. He wants New York to boost income taxes on the richest Big Apple residents by 2 percentage points, or have the New York City Council approve a 9.5% property tax increase.

Either route should prove to be terrific news for North Carolina’s efforts to lure more jobs and residents from the largest U.S. city.

More importantly, though, is how our state balances growth and quality of life. Younger North Carolinians have good reason to be skeptical about a society in which income inequality has reached historic levels, buying a first home is out of reach for so many, and the rent is too dang high. Same for food, auto insurance and electric bills.

North Carolina’s key responses over the past decade have included cutting taxes, limiting regulations, investing more in public colleges and universities and supporting expansion of non-public, K-12 schools. Those choices mostly conflict with the socialist playbook, which promotes equitable distribution over profit maximization. That sets up an interesting dispute over the next decade.

History suggests socialism rarely delivers a more just society. Until recently, that has been a bipartisan consensus in the U.S., but the tide is turning. Actions by business leaders will play an important role in the debate.

In the meantime, enjoy March Madness.

** The February edition included an incorrect photo for Shelly Cayette-Weston, president of business operations for the Charlotte Hornets. The edition also misstated the opening date of NationsBank Corporate Center in Charlotte. It was 1992.

46, NO. 3

PUBLISHER

Ben Kinney bkinney@businessnc.com

EDITOR David Mildenberg dmildenberg@businessnc.com

MANAGING EDITOR Kevin Ellis kellis@businessnc.com

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Ray Gronberg rgronberg@businessnc.com

Cathy Martin cmartin@businessnc.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Chris Burritt, Bill Horner III, Caroline Khalaf, Audrey Knaack, Brad King, Tucker Mitchell, Lori D.R. Wiggins

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Cathy Swaney cswaney@businessnc.com

MARKETING COORDINATOR Jennifer Ware jware@businessnc.com

EVENT DIRECTOR Norwood Teague nteague@businessnc.com

ADVERTISING SALES

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR

Melanie Weaver Lynch, eastern N.C. 919-855-9380 mweaver@businessnc.com

ACCOUNT MANAGER Anne Brundage, western N.C. abrundage@businessnc.com

CIRCULATION: 818-286-3106

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REPRINTS: circulation@businessnc.com

OWNERS

Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels III, David Woronoff, in memoriam Frank Daniels Jr.

PUBLISHED BY Old North State Magazines LLC

PRESIDENT David Woronoff BUSINESSNC.COM

FRED WHITFIELD

THE PEOPLE KEPT COMING

Fred Whitfield joined High Point University President Nido Qubein in the Power List interview, a partnership for discussions with influential leaders. The interview was edited for clarity.

You played basketball and you met a pretty famous guy. Not famous then, but famous now. Michael Jordan. You worked with him at the Washington Wizards and as a part of Jordan Brands. Then, as fate would have it, ended up being a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. You’ve been everywhere. You’ve done it all.

I’ve just been very blessed, and I’ve had some great people in my life who have extended an olive branch to me and given me opportunities. I just try to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.

Being a college athlete and getting an economics degree and an MBA and a law degree, I was able to utilize all of those tools, which was really just a dream come true.

Were you born in Greensboro?

Yes, and I had a small law office over on State Street in Greensboro and used to go to traffic court in the morning, handle 10 or 15 speeding

Fred Whitfield is the former president and minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets under Michael Jordan’s leadership. Before joining the team in 2006, he had been a player, coach, agent, sports marketer and basketball operations administrator. He made career stops at Nike, Falk Associates Management Enterprises and the Washington Wizards. He previously earned bachelor’s and MBA degrees from Campbell University, where he played basketball for three years and was team captain as a senior. He also has a law degree from N.C. Central University. He is now a director of O’Reilly Automotive, a Springfield, Missouri-based auto parts retailer with annual revenue of nearly $18 billion.

tickets, misdemeanor criminal actions and occasionally personal injury cases. I enjoyed that, but my passion was always sports. When I was able to move my career in the direction of sports, I took advantage of it.

Tell me about how you became a minority owner with the Charlotte Hornets?

I sold my interest when Michael sold the majority interest to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. We were very fortunate and this is very public. We bought the team for $175 million from Bob Johnson, (finalized in 2010). And we were fortunate to sell that team at a $3 billion valuation in 2023.

What makes a team go from a valuation of $175 million to $3 billion?

It was a lot of luck and a lot of great people. I was fortunate to be able to surround myself with a great team of leaders. And I let them do their jobs. I let them focus on their respective areas of expertise within the company. I got involved in the community, and the community supported us.

Even though we didn’t win a lot of games, we turned that organization around from losing $30 million a year when I started in 2006. Whitfield said the team made the playoffs three times in 17 years.

When Bob Johnson owned the team, the community, for whatever reason, wouldn’t support the team. When the hometown hero came in, Michael Jordan, and bought the team, all the local companies got behind us, all the national companies that he was associated or affiliated with got behind us.

We averaged about 18,000 fans a night. But more importantly, as other teams in the NBA sold, the valuations of other teams in the league continued to rise. The Portland Trail Blazers just sold for a little over $4 billion. And they’re a small market team, like we were in Charlotte. Right before our sale, the Phoenix Suns sold for $4 billion

That really pushed the valuation up. And, again, we were driving a profitable business. The NBA recognized us as a best practice organization. The combination of all that is really what helped us be able to get a multiple of what we paid for the team.

What are the fundamentals to have a successful franchise?

The first thing you have to do, especially in a town like Charlotte, is you have to be connected in the community and you have to be willing to give back. You have to be willing to sit on nonprofit boards and serve the community, forget about your company necessarily, and think about the betterment of Charlotte.

We were able to do that. Then, you have to drive revenue, ticket sales, sponsorships, regional television deals, food, beverage. You have to maximize all of those areas. That’s what a successful business is about. The NBA has a great group for marketing and business operations that goes around to each team.

We share best practices amongst small market teams. If you follow those principles and build the business the right way, whether your team wins on the floor or not, you have a chance to be profitable.

What percentage of your revenue came from television?

The biggest revenue comes from the league-wide TV deal, which is distributed 30 ways. In the NBA every team has a regional TV deal and that station covers all the games that aren’t on national TV. Because we didn’t have a lot of success on the floor, normally we didn’t have any national TV games, but all 82 of our regular-season games were on Fox Sports Net. That was our second-biggest revenue driver. And then tickets are third, and corporate sponsorships are fourth. Then food and beverage, because you split that revenue with suppliers.

What were the biggest challenges?

The biggest challenge was we never won the entire time I was there. I watched my friend Rick Welts, who was the president of Golden State Warriors, win three or four championships. Obviously it’s much easier to sell tickets.

But the people kept coming.

It was only because we were so connected in the community, and I think our fans just would give us another chance. Every year we sell hope. We were fortunate to sell our naming rights to Time Warner Cable, which became Spectrum. But when you don’t win, you really have to do everything else right. You have to be involved in the community. You have to make sure that the food is hot and the beer is cold. And the experience is great. You want your fans to leave and say, “I hate that we lost tonight. But as a family, we had a great time.”

We also had a great owner, Michael Jordan, who was willing to do and invest anything that he could to help us run a great business, and even put a great product on the floor. But injuries can come in and can ruin everything.

I read where the most influential people in your life, to a great extent, were your mom and dad, Janol and Fred Sr.

My mom’s 94 and lives in Charlotte. She was a school teacher for 35 years. I lost my dad about five years ago. My parents were married 63 years. Both of my parents had master’s degrees. My dad went to North Carolina and my mom went to Bennett College, and they both went to grad school. So from the time I was a baby, I was taught that education is a difference maker. And if you really study hard and set high goals and aspirations, surround yourself with the right people, you can do anything you want to do.

This was not the norm, especially in black families in the early 60s. But that encouragement prompted me to try to be a good student all the way through grad school and law school. I just

wanted to do everything I could to be prepared in case I got a great opportunity, which I was blessed to get, then I’d be ready to take advantage of it.

Tell us about Jordan Brand.

I got fired from the Wizards, when Michael Jordan also got fired back in 2003. Nike called me up because I had worked at Nike Pro Basketball from 1995 to 2000. When I was doing my exit interview from Nike, Phil Knight said to me, “Hey Fred, you’re doing a great job. If you ever want to come back, we’ll find a role for you.”

I was going to work for the Washington Wizards. I’m thinking, I’m not coming back. Sure enough, after Michael Jordan was president of basketball for the Wizards and then played two years and helped turn that franchise around financially, [owner Abe Pollin] decided to go in a different direction. Needless to say, he felt like he should go in a different direction for me too.

So I got fired and Nike called me and said, “We’ve got this small brand doing about $300 million a year. We’d love for you to come back to Nike and help us put the strategy together to grow it to a $1 billion a year business.” This was the Michael Jordan product with shoes and apparel.

We put together a very unique strategy of bringing non-basketball athletes into the brand.

We realized quickly that our growth opportunity was to become global. In three years,we grew it to a $900 million annual business. Now it’s doing $8 billion. They’re using the exact same strategy that we put together.

Michael Jordan finished his career as a basketball player in 2003. So how does Jordan Brands remain relevant to young people all over the world who may have never seen Michael Jordan play?

Well, the movie “Space Jam” helps. And the product is iconic, and Michael’s brand, as a former player and a winner of six championship rings, still resonates with young folks. Now it’s expanded into every economic class and every race. The Jordan Brand is huge in China. It’s huge all over Europe. There’s a flagship store in Milan.

What is it about Michael Jordan that kept his feet on the ground all these years? His parents?

Absolutely, I think the reason he and I hit it off and became friends is we were raised very similarly. His mom and dad were great people. They pushed him to graduate and get his degree, which he did. And he always listened to his parents. He just had phenomenal role models and had phenomenal brothers and sisters.

I think that humbleness that he has comes from the way he was raised in a humble family down in Wilmington. Dean Smith played such a huge role in his life as a father figure when he got to college, and I don’t think he’s ever forgotten the principles that Coach Smith taught him.

What would your advice be to young men and women who play basketball who are dealing with the transfer portal?

I think athletes should continue to focus on academics and put a value on that college degree, because the reality is that less than 1% of all of the players in college actually make it to the pros. But if they can concentrate and get that degree, there are so many opportunities that are fun that they can still earn a great living. I was fortunate enough to be able to do it and they can still be around the game. ■

INSIDE JOB

Indoor golf takes off in North Carolina as tech-driven facilities attract all skill levels.

By Brad King

wave of indoor golf facilities is quietly reshaping how North Carolinians engage with the game. Blending sports technology, real estate strategy and changing consumer habits, the sector is emerging as a fast-growing niche.

Utah-based The Back Nine Golf is among the latest entrants, opening its first N.C. location in Chapel Hill in January, with a second Triangle site planned for Raleigh. The 2,500-square-foot space in a Chapel Hill neighborhood shopping center features Full Swing simulators, semi-private bays and 24/7 access. The goal is to lower barriers to entry and maximize year-round usage.

Memberships typically range from $125 to $225 per month, depending on access hours and booking privileges, while hourly simulator rentals generally run $35 to $55 per hour.

The Back Nine is just one piece of a statewide trend. Indoor golf concepts are expanding into former retail space, mixed-use developments and urban districts where traditional golf access is constrained by land availability, cost, time or weather.

Durham’s State of Golf opened in June 2024 at the American Tobacco Campus. Intown Golf Club is preparing a 13,000-square-foot flagship at Raleigh’s North Hills Innovation District.

Charlotte’s indoor golf scene includes simulator-focused venues like Impact Golf Lounge, Tap In, X Golf, Golf Links Simulators and Tempo Golf Club in Huntersville offering hourly play, leagues and social gaming options that cater to serious golfers and casual players.

Locally owned simulator lounges have appeared in smaller

towns such as Kernersville, Wake Forest, Hope Mills and Banner Elk.

The growth points to a meaningful shift in North Carolina’s golf economy, complementing the state’s nationally recognized destination golf market. State of Golf owner Brandon Baker sees the trend as part of a broader evolution in how people experience the game. North Carolina is one of the country’s great golf states, but Baker says the state of golf itself is changing, becoming more social, accessible and tech-driven.

DRINK AND DRIVE

Baker, who didn’t take up golf seriously until his mid20s, credits the game with opening professional and personal doors over the past two decades. Most recently, he completed a $12 million project with Hanse Golf Design to build TriGolf in Cary, a nontraditional golf facility focused on youth development. State of Golf grew naturally from that effort. Golf course architect Gil Hanse’s projects include the restoration of Pinehurst No. 4, Streamsong Black in Florida and the Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro.

“We built a space where you can work on your game, enjoy a well-made Old Fashioned and actually want to hang out for a while,” Baker says. “Golf in any format should be accessible to anyone who wants to give it a shot.”

The Durham venue blends serious practice with social appeal. Full Swing simulators, which use the same technology as PGA Tour players for practice, allow players to choose from

QUICK RELEASE

Nationally, golf participation has remained resilient, but access to courses has tightened in fast-growing urban areas. Public tee times are harder to secure, private club initiation fees have climbed, and spending four or five hours at the course can deter younger professionals and families.

Indoor golf addresses those friction points, allowing players to book hourly sessions regardless of weather or daylight. According to the National Golf Foundation, off-course participation including simulator golf and driving-range entertainment venues has exceeded on-course play for the past three years.

dozens of courses or focus on skill development. The multisport technology also offers baseball, soccer, football and other games that appeal to families and groups.

Simulator bays typically rent for about $50 to $70 per hour, often shared among groups, while monthly memberships generally range from $150 to $300.

PGA professional Brooke DeHart, who joined State of Golf last year as director of instruction, says the indoor environment removes much of golf’s intimidation factor.

“It’s so much less intimidating hitting into the screen without worrying about losing golf balls or holding up the group behind you,” she says. “It’ll never replace the real thing, but it’s a really nice way to keep your game in shape.”

Corporate demand is an unexpected driver. Baker says both small businesses to publicly traded firms are increasingly using indoor golf spaces for team-building events and client entertainment.

“It’s become an alternative to the conference room,” he says. The versatility shows up in daily traffic. Regular golf groups book practice sessions during the week, while weekends often bring birthday parties, family outings and date nights.

Durham resident Corey Proctor, a member at State of Golf, says atmosphere matters. “You go to a lot of simulator places, and they’re dingy or outdated,” he says. “Here, I can even get my fiancée to come hang out and have a drink because it’s so nice. That says a lot.”

Baker says the relationship between off-course and traditional golf is complementary. “We’re creating golfers, not stealing them.”

Developers say the concepts can pay off financially. Facilities typically require only a few thousand square feet and can fit into existing retail or mixed-use projects. That flexibility makes them attractive tenants in urban environments where land for traditional courses is scarce. At Durham’s American Tobacco Campus, State of Golf adds another entertainment option to the live-work-play district and gives residents a reason to return downtown after work.

The business still faces familiar hospitality challenges. With only a limited number of simulator bays, operators must carefully manage peak demand during evenings and weekends similar to tee-time availability at busy courses. Education is another hurdle, as many consumers don’t fully understand what indoor golf offers.

Still, most operators see long-term opportunity. Land scarcity, time constraints and a younger generation seeking experience-driven leisure activities all point toward continued expansion. Baker expects more indoor golf facilities across North Carolina in the coming years, though he believes technology alone won’t guarantee success.

“The places that win,” he says, “will be the ones that deliver authentic experiences, not just screens and simulators.”

Unlike flashier entertainment trends, indoor golf’s rise has been largely under the radar. But its alignment with urban growth, changing lifestyles and advances in sports technology suggests it may become a lasting piece of the evolving golf landscape. ■

Brandon Baker and his wife, Virginia, opened Durham’s State of Golf in June 2024.

State of Golf is located at Durham’s American Tobacco Campus.

Entrepreneurship

By Caroline Khalaf

Joey Cheek didn’t want about what he did 20 one becomes a global 22, winning a bronze Olympics and following up four hardware.

It’s also why he spent three weeks Sports at this year’s Olympics in

But Cheek’s main focus for the speeding the performance of small Guilford County.

ENTREPRENEUR GOLD

Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek trades medals for mentoring Greensboro’s next generation of startups.

In October 2023, he joined the Commerce as executive vice president and the leader of Launch Greensboro, to grow local businesses. A current Greensboro Startup Week in late emphasize industries throughout Core region, he says.

years speed-skating medal years also year’s northern past speeding the businesses he the Greensboro of which to local businesses. current project April, which throughout the Carolina

“We think it’s compelling enough that the whole state should come,” Cheek says. “When you look at startup weeks in general, a lot of them are only entrepreneurial training. We’re going to have that, but what we really want is for big industries to be here to interface with the next generation of great companies.”

career early in his life, picking with roller skates at a north Greensboro rink. He graduated from Greensboro’s Dudley High School in 1997, then pursued his skating passion over the next decade. A er his Olympics career, he enrolled at Princeton University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2011.

He then worked for a venture rm in San Francisco and was part of a few startups before moving back to Greensboro in 2021 with his wife, Tamara. She was on the U.S. kayak team in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and is involved in community groups, has made documentary lms and is launching a management consulting group.

Cheek says his transition from sport to entrepreneurship came with challenges.

“When I rst started in business, I had gotten so ,” Cheek explains. “I kind of had all these people believing everything I touch is going to turn to gold, but I got into the startup world, and it’s been so hard. It’s every bit as hard, or maybe even harder than winning Olympic medals, to start a great company.”

Switching from the individuality of sport to a teamwork mindset in business was di cult.

“ e de nition of a company is being more than one person and speed skating is an individual sport,” Cheek says. “When I wasn’t doing as well as I wanted, my natural instinct was to try harder myself. However, if you’re trying to build a business, one of the rst things that you learn – and I learned very painfully – is that you cannot do it all. is is still challenging for me. It’s still uncomfortable for me to go ask for new help or new support, but we have to all the time.”

Cheek’s second instinct from skating was to focus on one goal. An Olympic medal in speed skating was that goal for a large part of his life.

“Becoming an Olympic champion is a phenomenally specialized thing,” Cheek says. “It’s always the same thing and getting really, really good at one thing. It’s not specialized in business. I found the best entrepreneurs are happy being 80% good at 10 things rather than the best at one.”

Despite the challenges, Cheek has taken many life lessons from professional speed skating and applied them at the chamber.

“ e year a er my Olympic career, I did 100 speeches in 300 days either raising money for causes I believe in or doing

the corporate circuit that a lot of athletes do,” Cheek says. “ e ability to communicate and articulate a vision has been by far my strongest ability as an entrepreneur.”

As Greensboro continues its transition from a city dominated by textiles, tobacco and furniture to new industries, it requires an inspired vision, he notes. “I think I got good at being able to tell stories and that has been instrumental in helping me in this role.”

Cheek also learned how to work harder than the average person.

“ e capacity to just absorb work and just be a pack horse is kind of essential, no matter where you are,” Cheek says. “I was, and still am, unafraid to su er in pursuit of a goal.”

Cheek, 46, doesn’t compete in skating anymore, but the sport remains central to his personal and professional life. His broadcasting experience in Italy is a terri c opportunity, he says.

Joey Cheek

“Americans do not get to watch much speed skating, so we really want to put into time and place what it is they’re seeing and the signi cance of it.

“I still get to do a lot of cool stu like commentating on the Olympics, so I’m not totally removed from skating. But, I wanted to make sure that I did something else with my life. Now, I try my best to support entrepreneurs and help them to avoid my mistakes and maximize the good parts.”■

Somer Stanley (center), founder of Nclusive Scan, joined Cheek, far left, and others at an Accelerate Greensboro entrepreneurial event.

PURE AND SIMPLE

A Charlotte chemistry professor seeks an elegant fix to a complex global fi challenge.

By Audrey Knaack

Across the globe, 2.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, according to the World Health Organization. It’s a big issue for North Carolina, where at least 2.5 million people drink water that environmental groups contend has been contaminated by toxic chemicals.

Jordan Poler, a chemistry professor for more than 30 years at UNC Charlotte, is addressing the problem with a startup that commercializes his research on removing harmful contaminants from drinking water at the molecular level.

e professor’s focus on water puri cation dates to 2014, when Flint, Michigan, faced a public health crisis a er the city switched its water source from the Detroit municipal system to the Flint River. Researchers found that excessive carbon levels in the water ate away at household pipes, causing lead exposure to an estimated 140,000 residents, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Poler’s research team received its rst patent in the water treatment sector for a design that tackled the root cause of the issue, namely removing carbon. e work was e ective at addressing a wide spectrum of contaminants, including pesticides and heavy metals, though Poler didn’t pursue commercializing that research. Many contaminants are

commonly described as “forever” chemicals, or PFAs. e acronym stands for per- and poly uoroalkyl substances, including thousands of man-made chemicals used in consumer products and manufacturing since the 1940s.

e problem hit closer to home for Poler in 2017, when Chemours (formerly DuPont), was found responsible for discharging PFAs into the Cape Fear River from its large Fayetteville plant in southeastern North Carolina. A key problem was a PFA called GenX, most notably found in nonstick cookware like Te on. e river supplies drinking water to more than 500,000 households, including an estimated 7,000 private drinking water wells.

Rather than carbon removal, Poler pivoted to focus on studying materials and obtaining patents to speci cally extract PFAs. His work launched an entrepreneurial venture beyond the lab called nanXPure, with an o ce in Huntersville in Mecklenburg County.

He was joined by Dana Hicks, a business consultant with a long history in the water ltration and engineering industries, to form nanXPure. Hicks is a former CEO of Huber Technology, a German-owned company that serves the water and wastewater industries. Its North American headquarters is in Denver, Lincoln County.

e duo has raised about $1 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, and NCInnovation, the Durham-based group that helps transition academic research into commercial applications.

Jordan Poler

nanXPure received a $400,000 grant from NCInnovation, which has provided $13.5 million to inventors since its debut.

“Our goal is to disrupt the point-of-use drinking water industry with our regenerable and reusable media and devices,” Poler says.

e technology relies on zeolites, a nontoxic mineral that is o en used in air puri ers or soil treatments. When placed in a reactor and bonded to a lab-created polymer, the process leads to a slight positive charge, which combats the negative charge found in PFAs and pesticides. Opposites attract, so the PFAs can literally be ltered out of water within seconds.

e chemistry is water-based, and the process doesn’t produce hazardous waste.

For testing, nanXPure is partnering with Goulston Technologies, a specialty chemical manufacturer based in Monroe. Poler credits Goulston Chief Financial O cer Srinivasan Ranganathan for his leadership and strong partnership with UNC Charlotte.

e company’s water puri cation devices and media have passed the National Sanitation Foundation International’s standard testing

methods. Now, nanXPure is working with Goulston to expand 50 kilogram batches tenfold, thereby making the product commercially viable.

Poler’s hope is to start pilot production by this summer or fall. e initial target market is selling a lter that can be easily installed in most household refrigerators. Down the road, nanXPure envisions selling its product to municipal water systems.

Over the years, Poler has mentored dozens of students, from high schoolers to UNC science and engineering students ranging from bachelor’s to the Ph.D. level. He emphasizes the importance of the scienti c method and fundamental research. His current e ort bridges the gap between scienti c innovation and business.

e entrepreneurial venture has reminded Poler that he is rst and foremost a scientist. “It was quite an awakening for me to learn how much I didn’t know,” he says. “Faculty are used to being the experts in the room. But when you’re talking with water treatment operators and technicians, you’re climbing a steep learning curve.”

His advice related to commercialization is straightforward. “Great ideas are easy,” Poler says. “Solving real problems for real people is what makes a business viable. And you can’t do it alone.” ■

POWER PLAYER

Gov. Josh Stein named former Duke Energy and Strata Clean Energy engineer John Gajda to the N.C. Utilities Commission, lling a slot opened when former chair Karen Kemerait le to join the Fox Rothschild law rm in Raleigh. e governor appoints two of the commissioner’s ve members, a er the Republican-led legislature changed the process and reduced the panel’s size. e governor previously made all appointments. ey remain subject to General Assembly con rmation.

Gajda an electrical engineer and a professor at NC State’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Beyond Duke and Strata, he’s had stints with the N.C. Electric Cooperatives, the N.C. Public Sta , Corp. and the U.S. Department Energy.

the respect of stakeholders across the industry.” Gajda helped design many renewable energy generation interconnections in North Carolina between 2005 and 2019, the governor says. A key commission task this year is addressing Duke Energy’s request for annual rate increases exceeding 15% for residential customers in North Carolina. A decision is expected by the end of the year.

Stein says Gajda “understands the technical, regulatory, and operational sides of this work, and he has earned

e commission now includes former state Sen. Floyd McKissick, a holdover gubernatorial appointee; former Rep. Bill Brawley and former Sen. Tommy Tucker, both legislative appointees; and former Chief Administrative Law Judge Donald van der Vaart, appointed by State Treasurer Brad Briner. McKissick is a Democrat, while the other three are Republicans. Brawley chairs the panel. Commissioners are paid about $153,000 annually. ■

nanXPure is designing its purification system for use in home refrigerators.

Pike of

John Gajda

NC TREND

NC TREND ››› Technology

UP FOR GRABS

AI portends a ‘highly disruptive’ future for N.C. tech jobs.

By Chris Burritt

North Carolina’s tech sector has shown explosive growth, providing a solid base of high-paying jobs, particularly in the Charlotte and Triangle metro areas.

Keeping that momentum going faces serious challenges, however, as major employers adopt artificial intelligence to improve productivity and boost profitability.

Those conflicting messages are cited in the North Carolina Technology Association’s annual outlook, released in mid-February.

AI “may generate productivity gains with little or no impact on overall employment,” according to the report. Or, technology could “replace substantial portions of the workforce,” the group says, citing debate among industry researchers. About 60% of the state’s total tech jobs could be heavily impacted by AI, the report noted.

Spurred by Research Triangle Park, North Carolina has long had a reputation as a technology leader. But the state’s credentials have gained in recent years, particularly with fast-growing financial services and healthcare services companies adding software positions.

NC Tech cited 328,500 tech workers as of 2024, a 19% increase over the past five years. That included a 1.6% increase in 2024 from the previous year. (More recent data wasn’t available.)

That employment increase since 2019 was more than double the national growth rate. While the sector accounts for 6.7% of total jobs statewide, they typically pay a lot more than most other occupations, with average annual pay of $148,000. That compares with a statewide average of about $70,700, according to state data.

AI’s advance will require state leaders “to be prepared to train the next generation of AI experts to support its local

companies, while also identifying ways to retrain workers whose jobs may be displaced,” the Raleighbased group says.

Gov. Josh Stein last September established an AI Leadership Council and took other steps to prepare the workforce for AI-related jobs, as well as to support businesses operating in the state and attract new ones reliant on the technology. Twenty-five leaders from the legislature, private industry and state agencies serve on the council to advise how to deploy AI “to enhance government operations (and) drive economic growth,” Stein says.

AI emerged as a top-requested skill for employers seeking help last year, with 6,200 unique job postings in November mentioning the technology in job descriptions. That ranked only 13th among the top skills sought by enterprises, trailing demand for expertise in computer science, automation and programming languages.

Wells Fargo ranked first among North Carolina job postings seeking AI skills for the three years ending in November, the report says. Others keen on hiring for AI were consulting firms Accenture,

Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers; Truist and Bank of America; and the Triangle’s three research universities.

NC Tech cited research assessing occupations with the greatest exposure to AI as those whose workload could potentially be handled much more quickly by AI. “Tech occupations such as computer programmers, web developers, mathematicians, and software developers are among the most exposed,” the report says. Clerical or writing work also may be endangered.

N.C. operations employed about 57,400 software developers in 2024, the most of any category. The occupation is also among the most exposed to AI, along with research analysts and data scientists.

“These are roles that have historically driven growth in the state’s tech sector,” the report says. “If exposure leads to even modest levels of job replacement, it could significantly impact the state’s employment figures.”

Some researchers contend AI will mainly lead to automation of early-career tasks. If that finding holds true, NC Tech noted, roughly 19% of the state’s tech sector, or about 90,230 jobs, would be threatened.

“For years, tech jobs have offered stable, higher-paying career opportunities, and many young people have taken on college debt to train for positions in tech fields,” the report says. “If AI exposure in these occupations leads to fewer job opportunities, young workers may face significant challenges in repositioning their careers and achieving economic security.”

On a brighter note, NC Tech says, the increasing demand for AI skills “can offer tremendous economic security for those who have the necessary skills.”

From November 2022 to this past October, about 5,940 different employers sought AI talent in 56,820 North Carolina job postings, according to the report. As of November, the average advertised salary in postings was $132,000. ■

AI “may generate productivity gains with little or no impact on overall employment,” Or, technology could “replace substantial portions of the workforce,”

– North Carolina Technology Association’s annual outlook

Governor Josh Stein started a 25-person committee to study AI’s impact on the workforce.

FACTORY DELIVERY

Entrepreneur Rob Belk takes over a thriving Greensboro marketing business.

By Kevin Ellis

A

decade a er the Belk family sold their 300-unit department store chain, a fourth generation is showing some entrepreneurial vigor.

e latest example: in February, Rob Belk acquired Greensborobased marketing agency Sales Factory and became CEO. He’s the son of former Belk stores President Johnny Belk, who with his CEO brother Tim Belk negotiated the $3 billion sale to Sycamore Partners in 2105.

eir father, Tom Belk, joined brother John Belk to share top leadership of the retail business for decades. In turn, their father, William Henry Belk, started the business in Monroe in 1888.

Former CEO Ged King will remain Sales Factory’s chief revenue o cer and equity partner, focusing on new business development and the transition. King’s father, the late George King, started the business in 1984. It has grown to 51 employees, including 41 based in the Triad and a second o ce in Raleigh.

Rob Belk notes his family ties o er a lot of advantages, which he likened to the parable of talents that Jesus described in the Gospel of Matthew.

We were “born into something where we’re fortunate to have so many resources, and for me, it’s always felt like a calling to not bury those, but actually put it to work,” he says.

Belk’s career path seemed destined growing up in Charlotte in the 2000s. As a teenager, he had an early job selling women’s shoes at Belk’s agship store at SouthPark Mall, with his sights set on being a part of the next generation to lead the regional department chain.

He was attending the University of Virginia at the time of the sale. Its timing proved to be exceptional, with department store values plunging over the past decade.

He has followed in the entrepreneurial lane of his family. His cousin, Katherine, who friends call Peanut, operates Wild Hope Farm, about 45 miles south of Charlotte, which supplies produce and owers to restaurants and consumers regionally.

Another cousin, Charlie Morris, bought Florence, South Carolina-based Young’s Premium Foods, known for its Christmastime nut packages. And cousin omas Belk founded Charlotte-based Spot On Moving.

“Growing up in a family business, I think you kind of get that (entrepreneurship) somewhat instinctively,” Belk says. “I felt like

the best way to tap into the desire to do something entrepreneurial was to nd an existing business that already had the hard part, you know, the product market, gured out.”

He says he found that in Sales Factory, starting as a client less than a year before buying the business in February.

“I’m not here to get in the weeds and do the creative work,” he says. “I’m here to ensure that everybody can do what they’re experts at. I set the strategy into vision and let the real experts do the actual work.

“I want this to be a jewel of Greensboro, but over time, a jewel for the state,” he says.

While earning an MBA at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Belk had an internship in 2018 at the NFL headquarters in New York. at’s where he gained a connection that led to a job with Activision Blizzard, which owns the “Call of Duty” video game.

e experience “gave me a lot of con dence that I could come into a new industry, a new company, not necessarily having grown up in it, and be successful,” says Belk, noting he wasn’t an avid gamer.

Belk moved to Greensboro to be closer to his wife’s family about three years ago. He had been living for about ve years in the Los Angeles area, working for Activision Blizzard. His roles included director of the esports group for “Call of Duty”.

Over the past six months, he says he has spent more time with Ged King than anyone except his wife. King and his brother, Matt King, took over Sales Factory when their father died in 1996. Ged King has been CEO for 12 years.

“He’s built an incredible business with his brother, and they’ve carried on their family’s legacy,” says Belk.

Much of Sales Factory work focuses on research and ideas that help clients sell more products at big-box stores. Its clients include Channellock, Primo Water, General Electric, Tempur Sealy International, Reynolds, Fruit of the Loom and WD-40.

“I think a little bit of the retail in my blood came calling,” says Belk.

Ged King says Belk will bring “fresh energy, a growth mindset, and a strong alignment with the values that have de ned Sales Factory. He understands our business, believes in our people and shares our long-term commitment to this community.” ■

NC TREND ››› Economic Development

North Carolina’s economic incentives program provides a glimpse into the inner workings of companies that want to recoup some money in return for sharing snippets of information. A lot of companies take the deal, with business pledging in 2025 alone to invest more than $24 billion in North Carolina and add about 35,500 jobs over the next decade or so.

e projects are tied to state economic incentive grants, which pay out a er companies hit the capital spending and investment targets.

Here’s how seven companies followed through on their expansion promises. e information is based on Economic Investment Committee decisions made in late January. e state committee tracks the incentives and follow-through by participating companies.

PAREXEL pledged in 2019 to create 264 jobs paying an annual average salary of $110,511 as part of a move to locate a second U.S. headquarters in Durham. e state promised to pay the pharmaceuticals contract research and services company about $4.2 million over 12 years.

Since then, Parexel, which had been based in Massachusetts, has created 312 jobs paying an average annual wage of $187,008. e company has retained 632 workers in the state. It is owned jointly by the EQT private equity group and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

e EIC awarded Parexel a payment of $376,500 for 2024, its annual portion of the 12-year state grant.

PLEDGES AND PAYOFFS

Seven companies report progress on hitting targets for state incentives.

By Kevin Ellis

Austin, Texas-based DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS pledged in 2015 to create an East Coast headquarters in Charlotte with a $105 million investment that would create 316 jobs at an annual salary of $147,025. e $1 trillion asset manager has created 286 jobs at an annual salary of $214,338, while investing $157.3 million, including a South End area building. DFA’s job creation total fell within 90% of the target, so it hit its job creation goal.

e EIC awarded $1 million for 2024, part of an incentive package that could total $10.3 million.

Starting in 2018, HONEYWELL moved its headquarters from New Jersey to a 23-story building in Uptown Charlotte. e Fortune 100 company promised to create 750 jobs at a minimum annual average wage of at least $278,560 and invest $248.1 million.

Since then, the company has created 1,101 jobs at an annual wage of $310,677. e company also invested $277.5 million. e EIC awarded Honeywell a payment of almost $4.1 million for 2024, its annual portion of an incentive package that could total $42.4 million over 12 years.

Now, Honeywell is splitting into three companies, two of which will be based in other states. e impact on Charlotte operations is unclear.

In 2011, North Carolina-based so ware developer RED HAT promised to create 300 jobs at an average wage of $83,082 and invest $8 million to expand its Raleigh headquarters. IBM bought Red Hat for $34 billion in 2019, and it’s been wildly successful. It has created 356 jobs paying an average annual wage of $379,651, or four times the initial projection. It has also invested $14.1 million in the expansion and retained 1,168 jobs.

e EIC awarded Red Hat a payment of $827,250 for 2024, its annual portion of a 12-year state incentive package totaling about $15 million.

Japan-based packaging company AMERICAN FUJI SEAL pledged in 2020 to create 46 jobs with an annual wage of $48,744 in Hickory. Since then, the company has created 91 jobs with an average annual wage of $51,716. e EIC awarded American Fuji a payment of $34,200 for 2024, its annual portion of an incentive package that could total $765,000 over 12 years.

All deals don’t work out, however.

Aluminum beverage packaging company BALL CORPORATION pledged in 2020 to create 220 new jobs in Cabarrus County, paying an annual average wage of $70,555 and investing $383.8 million to join a beverage manufacturing hub run by Red Bull and Rauch.

Red Bull and Rauch have broken ground on a 2.3-million-squarefoot production site, but don’t expect to begin operations until 2028 and not be at full production until 2028.

Cabinet-manufacturer AMERICAN WOODMARK pledged in 2022 to create 62 jobs and expand its operations with a $36.2 million investment in Richmond County. e Winchester, Virginia-based company hit its investment goal, but did not create any new jobs. Instead of retaining 948 jobs, its headcount decreased to 744 workers. e company blamed poor home sales for a decline in its fortunes. ■

CHARLOTTE

CHARLOTTE

Siemens Energy is spending $421 million and adding about 500 jobs to expand its turbine operations here, Raleigh and Rural Hall in Forsyth County. The Munich, Germany-based company employs 2,300 statewide. It cited growing electricity demand as construction of data centers expands. The investment in energy infrastructure equipment is part of a $1 billion capital spending plan in the U.S.

The N.C. Department of Transportation plans to build a deck atop part of Interstate 77 in central Charlotte to add express toll lanes, starting as soon as 2030. The project is expected to cost $3.2 billion as part of a public-private venture, with the state expecting to invest no more than $600 million. Some local leaders oppose the plan.

American Airlines subsidiary PSA Airlines opened its headquarters about a year after announcing plans to relocate from Dayton, Ohio. PSA will employ more than 450 workers at the site, located about five miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport. It’s the sole passenger airline headquartered in North Carolina.

AT&T plans to hire about 200 cybersecurity professionals at its chief security office at Innovation Park. The 41,600-squarefoot office will include a threat fusion center and focus on advanced cyber defense.

Honeywell settled litigation with private aviation firm Flexjet and extended its aircraft engine maintenance agreement through 2035. The dispute dated to 2023 claims over delayed engine repairs. Honeywell expects to take a roughly $470 million charge tied to the settlement.

Coca-Cola Consolidated pledged $25 million toward the launch of NC Children’s, the hospital that UNC Health and Duke Health intend to build in Apex in southern Wake County. The donation is the first major gift to the hospital, organizers say. They seek $1 billion from private donors as part of a project expected to cost at least $2 billion.

Meridian Waste acquired Richardson Waste Management of Woodlawn, Virginia. The deal supports Meridian’s new Greensboro transfer station and marks its 36th acquisition since private-equity firm Warren Equity Partners took ownership in 2018.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport relies heavily on parking for its revenue, and it jacked up rates effective March 1. In fiscal year 2025, the airport reported $124 million in parking revenue, a 32% increase since 2023, the last time rates increased. The airport reported 53.6 million passengers in 2025, about 200,000 fewer than in 2024.

A federal grand jury indicted former Charlotte Checkers owner Michael A. Kahn on tax fraud charges, alleging he took more than $4.5 million from his charitable foundation and failed to report it as income. Kahn pleaded not guilty and was released on bond pending trial.

Atrium Health reported a $1.73 billion profit last year from its Charlotte-area and Georgia operations. That doubled the

previous year results, reflecting strong gains in operating and investment income. Revenue grew 8.9% to $14.2 billion. Separately, parent Advocate Health raised its hourly minimum wage to $18.85 in its six-state footprint.

Developer Northwood Ravin is planning an 18-story multifamily building with 328 units next to The Pearl district, which includes Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The company bought the 1.3 million-acre site from printing and graphics provider DuncanParnell for $11.25 million last summer.

Atlanta-based Cousins Properties acquired the 25-story, 638,000-square-foot 300 South Tryon tower for $317.5 million. The fully leased building serves as Barings’ global headquarters.

HICKORY

Meta plans to pay Corning $6 billion for its fiber-optic cable over the next four years, a big win for Catawba County, where Corning has its largest manufacturing facility. Corning said its N.C. employment could grow from 5,000 to nearly 6,000 because of the deal with the owner of Facebook and Instagram. Corning also has plants in Concord, Newton, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

KINGS MOUNTAIN

Firestone Fibers and Textiles, which makes tire cord for Bridgestone, will eliminate 77 positions here, and four more from an office in Gastonia by April 28. The workers sent material to a facility in Joliette, Canada. Bridgestone said changing market conditions drive the cost-cutting. The plant employs 261 workers.

MONROE

Boyd Corp. will close its facility here in September, eliminating 63 jobs beginning in April. The plant produces nameplates and warning labels. Some employees may transfer or work remotely. Details about the closure were not disclosed.

MOORESVILLE

Lowe’s eliminated about 600 corporate and support roles, representing less than 1% of its workforce. About 230 Charlotte-area jobs are affected. Lowe’s employs about 300,000 people nationwide, including roughly 11,000 previously in the Charlotte region.

SALISBURY

The Blanche and Julian Robertson Foundation is part of a $5 million partnership that will provide an eightlane track and field complex for use by Catawba College and the Rowan-Salisbury School System. It’s the largest gift in the 25-year history of the foundation, formed by legendary investor Julian Robertson, who died in 2022. The track will be on the campus of J.H. Knox Intermediate School. Completion is expected in mid-2027.

EAST

FAYETTEVILLE

Walsingham Group was awarded a spot on the Missile Defense Agency’s SHIELD contract, a multiple-award vehicle with a ceiling of $151 billion through 2035. The deal supports the Pentagon’s Golden Dome initiative and positions the company for potential workforce expansion.

Cumberland County commissioners voted 4–2 to hire SfL+a Architects and Turner & Townsend Heery to design and oversee renovations of the Crown Arena and Crown Theatre. The county scrapped plans for a new $150 million downtown event center in favor of rehabbing the 1960s-era venues, with cost estimates expected this spring.

MOUNT PLEASANT

A vacant 1948 movie house will be renovated into The Avett Theater, a 634-seat live music and performing arts venue honoring the Avett family. The $3.75 million project will preserve the Paula Theater’s historic character while hosting concerts, education programs and community events.were not disclosed.

FORT BRAGG

The U.S. Army opened the Lt. Gen. James M. Gavin Joint Innovation Outpost here, a $26.3 million facility designed to speed the delivery of new technologies to soldiers. The 40,000-square-foot facility will serve as the center of innovation efforts for the XVIII Airborne Corps, which represents roughly 20% of the Army. The Army is also considering a data center for the largest U.S. military base by population.

GREENVILLE

Access East will eliminate 31 positions by March 31 as a result of losing government funding for its program that provides nonmedical services to Medicaid recipients in a 34-county area in eastern North Carolina. ECU Health funded eight of the positions and says it will try to find new positions for the displaced workers.

LUMBERTON

Biggs Park Mall is expanding with TJ Maxx, Burlington and Five Below adding new stores. Longtime retailers Belk, Maurice’s, Shoe Show, Tomlinson’s and Bath & Body Works are renovating their stores as part of an $18 million project at the mall, which opened in 1984 as Robeson County’s first enclosed mall.

NC TREND ››› Statewide

MCDONALD

Eastern North Carolina is getting closer to hosting its first casino. Lumbee Tribal Holdings, the for-profit arm of the tribe recently granted federal recognition, acquired 241 acres in Robeson County that may eventually house a casino and resort. The decision to develop a gaming site hinges on a vote by tribe members, Chairman John Lowery says.

WILLIAMSTON

Community leaders are seeking $220 million in state funding to reopen the former Martin General Hospital as a smaller rural emergency hospital. The facility closed more than two years ago. ECU Health is partnering on the plan, which depends on legislative budget approval to restore emergency care in Martin County.

WILMINGTON

TV and film production fell to an estimated $185 million in 2025, down 38% from about $300 million a year earlier, as the industry continues recovering from pandemic disruptions and labor strikes. Local leaders say productions are increasingly shifting overseas and are calling for stronger government incentives to attract projects back.

Edward Teach Brewing closed in midFebruary after eight years in business. The downtown business made news when former owner, Gary Sholar, was arrested and charged with assault last year, and state regulators later canceled the brewery’s permits due to unpaid fees.

Live Oak Bank is shutting down Channel, its free, inclusive small business center downtown, citing a more mature local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Opened in 2021, Channel served more than 1,000 small business owners but will close by month’s end, eliminating two positions.

WINSTON-SALEM

CorestemChemon will establish its U.S. hub in the Innovation Quarter, locating within Wake Forest’s Regenerative Medicine Engine to support commercialization of stem-cell therapies. Officials say the move strengthens the city’s life sciences ecosystem, though local hiring projections were not disclosed.

Sophie Dagenais was named president and CEO of the New Hanover Community Endowment after serving in the interim role since July. She replaces Dan Winslow, who resigned in July after about nine months on the job. The endowment reported more than $1.5 billion in assets in its 2024 IRS filing.

Isosceles Pharmaceuticals will conduct Phase I human trials of IPI201, a laboratorycreated cannabidiol drug targeting inflammation-related pain as a non-opioid alternative. Phase I testing with healthy volunteers is expected to start by April, marking the company’s transition from preclinical development toward potential commercialization.

TRIAD

GREENSBORO

Cone Health opened the first phase of The Resurgent, a $32 million mixed-use development near N.C. A&T, offering urgent care, primary care, and women’s health services to an area deemed underserved. Also, Dr. Paul Krakovitz starts as CEO of the healthcare system on March 16.

Guilford County staff unveiled a $572 million capital plan that includes demolishing the downtown Truist building for a $137 million consolidated government complex, plus major investments in health services, courts, EMS, jails, and facilities both here and High Point. The proposal has not yet received formal board approval.

Charlotte-based American City Business Journals will shift to an all-digital format for Triad Business Journal this summer. ACBJ prints papers in 44 markets across the U.S., including Charlotte and Raleigh.

WALNUT COVE

Gastonia-based Parkdale Mills is closing its spun yarn manufacturing site March 13, resulting in the loss of 72 jobs. The company said the closing is the “result of the declining economic environment created by rapidly rising energy costs” that has “created an unsustainable business model.” Parkdale officials cited the same factors when it closed a Sanford plant in 2024, resulting in the loss of 74 jobs.

WINSTON-SALEM

Inmar Intelligence is launching a digitalcoupon platform for convenience stores and gas stations, with BP as its first customer. The Earnify app will pilot soon, targeting snacks, beverages and food service, before a broader rollout in the first quarter.

Strickland Brothers, a private-equitybacked operator of quick-lube stores, received $360 million in new financing. New York investment firms Golub Capital and Audax Strategic Capital are backing the company, which operates or franchises about 300 sites in 27 states.

TRIANGLE

APEX

Vanguard Utility plans a $70 million investment in a facility to manufacture generic injectable drugs in short supply in the U.S. The operation will use plastic packaging technology to cut costs and could grow to about 100 jobs over the next three years.

CARRBORO

An N.C. Business Court judge dismissed the town’s climate-change lawsuit against Charlotte-based Duke Energy. Judge Mark Davis said a jury could only resort to “utter conjecture” to reach a verdict on the town’s claims. The lawsuit “ignores the fact that many significant issues regarding climate change are not only the subject of complex scientific debate but also implicate political, economic and moral choices made by governments and members of the public literally across the globe,” Davis ruled.

CARTHAGE

Moore County Airport received its first contribution toward bringing back commercial flights, with the U.S. Golf Association donating $150,000 toward a $3 million revenue-guarantee fund. Airport and tourism officials say the incentive is needed to secure interest from a major airline.

CARY

Epic Games is an “name, image and likeness” partner with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner who led the Hoosiers to their first national football championship. Mendoza’s overall NIL valuation is estimated at $2.6 million, among the highest in college sports.

Cofounders Capital raised more than $30 million toward a targeted $50 million to $60 million fourth venture fund focused on AI-driven software startups. The firm plans seed-stage investments of $1 million to $2 million as it seeks to back emerging Southeast technology companies.

CHAPEL HILL

UNC Chapel Hill plans to break ground on its Carolina North satellite campus in 2027. The first phase is expected to include housing for 2,200 students, plus classroom, lab and research space, along with retail, hospitality and lodging. University officials are mulling whether to renovate the existing Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center or build a new arena at the new campus.

DURHAM

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals borrowed $400 million from New York City-based Blackstone to help finance its $700 million acquisition of Astria Therapeutics. BioCryst also issued 37.3 million shares of its common stock to Astria’s equity holders. By purchasing Boston-based Astria, BioCryst acquired the rights to Navenibart, an indevelopment drug used to treat hereditary angioedema, a condition that in extreme cases can kill sufferers by choking off their upper airway.

Duke University and quarterback Darian Mensah reached a confidential settlement ending their legal dispute over his NIL contract, clearing the way for his transfer to conference rival Miami.

Duke Health filed plans for a $150 million proton therapy center on its campus, featuring a two-story, 48,000-square-foot facility expected to open by 2029. The center would treat up to 800 cancer patients annually, using advanced radiation technology designed to reduce side effects compared with conventional treatments.

Startup AxNano secured investment from Leonid Capital Partners to expand its onsite technology that destroys PFAS “forever chemicals.” CEO Doug Speight said funding will help scale profitable operations, pursue customers, and eliminate the need to transport contaminated waste for disposal.

HOLLY SPRINGS

Drugmaker Genentech is more than doubling its investment, to $2 billion, in a factory under construction. It now expects to employ at least 500 people at the site, 100 more than previously noted. The South San Francisco, California-based company is part of Switzerland’s Roche Group. It competes in the anti-obesity drug sector with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Those companies also have expanding N.C. operations.

KNIGHTDALE

Wake Stone will appeal a court ruling that mining permits next to Umstead State Park expire in 2031, after a judge allowed the company to intervene. State regulators declined to appeal the ruling. The outcome could determine whether Wake Stone’s mining expansion near RaleighDurham International Airport proceeds. Birmingham, Alabama-based Vulcan Materials owns Wake Stone.

MORRISVILLE

Avantor Fluid Handling, a life science company, plans to close its facility here by mid-July, resulting in the loss of 54 jobs. Avantor provides services to biomanufacturing companies.

NC TREND ››› Statewide

PINEHURST

Pinewild Country Club started construction on a 26,000-square-foot clubhouse as part of an $18 million investment by Icahn Enterprises. The project, set to open in early 2027, expands dining, fitness and outdoor amenities as Pinewild positions itself as a premier luxury residential club.

Pinehurst Surgical Clinic sold four fully occupied medical office properties totaling nearly 230,000 square feet to Nashvillebased Montecito Medical. The physician group reinvested alongside Montecito,an active nationwide medical office investors.

RALEIGH

Civic Federal Credit Union, independent financial institution last year, posted a net loss of $123.7 million in the 12 months ending Dec. 31, according to recent federal regulatory filings. Its assets declined to $3.3 billion from $4 billion at the end of 2024, while membership sank 12.8%, or 52,345, to 355,581. It was formerly known as Local Government Employees Federal Credit Union.

Raleigh beat Austin, Atlanta and Nashville to land BuildOps’ third tech hub, with officials citing incentives as a key factor. North Carolina offered nearly $3 million over 12 years, helping secure a pledge for 291 jobs averaging about $111,000 a year.

Pendo acquired Chisel Labs, expanding into India and establishing a Pune engineering hub expected to grow from eight to 50 staff this year. The deal, its fourth acquisition in 18 months, supports AI product growth.

N.C. Electric Cooperatives said Amadou Fall will become CEO in April, succeeding Joe Brannan, who has led the group since 2012. Fall has been the chief operating officer of the N.C. Electric Membership Corp. since early 2021. The trade group supports 26 coops that serve more than 2.8 million in North Carolina.

Kane Realty paid $72 million for a 28-site called “Midline Raleigh” that is on the east side of Kane’s North Hills developments. The seller is Chevy Chase, Maryland-based Federal Capital Partners, which bought the site for $37 million in 2021. The land is between the Interstate 440 Beltline and the Exchange development led by Dewitt Carolinas and its owners, Todd Saieed and Ven Poole.

Stewart was acquired by Boston-area engineering firm Stratus, giving the 140-employee company access to expanded national resources and complementary services while retaining staff and brand identity. Founder Willy Stewart expects the deal to support growth and broaden opportunities nationwide.

Wells Fargo, North Carolina’s fifthlargest private employer, plans to eliminate 112 positions in Wake County in early April. The nation’s fourth-largest bank has reduced its total workforce from 268,500 employees at the end of 2020 to about 205,000 now.

SOUTHERN PINES

First Bank CEO Adam Currie was elected a Class A director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond for a 2025–27 term, representing regional banking interests and providing economic insight across the Fifth District. Others named directors were Susan Mims, CEO of Dogwood Health Trust in Asheville; Omar Jorge, CEO of Compare Foods in Charlotte; and Jack Purcell, managing partner of Ridgemont Equity Partners in Charlotte. First Citizens Bancshares CEO Frank Holding Jr. was named to the Fed’s Federal Advisory Council.

WEST

ASHEVILLE

Amazon Energy agreed to buy Pine Gate Renewables’ Sunstone Solar project in Oregon for $83 million following a bankruptcy auction. The 10,000-acre solar and energy storage project is one of the world’s largest and marks the biggest asset sale yet tied to Pine Gate’s Chapter 11 filing.

Mission Hospital returned to federal “Immediate Jeopardy” status following an unannounced state inspection, putting its Medicare and Medicaid funding at risk if deficiencies aren’t corrected. Hospital leaders say enhanced corrective plans are underway, while critics cite ongoing quality-of-care concerns since HCA’s 2019 acquisition.

Ingles says it will reopen its Hurricane Helene-damaged stores in the Buncombe County town of Swannanoa, the Mitchell County town of Spruce Pine and the Burke County town of Morganton this year and next year, according to an SEC filing. The grocer gave no more definitive timeline. They have remained closed due to damage sustained during Hurricane Helene in September 2024.

BLOWING ROCK

Restaurant Bistro Roca was destroyed in a fire. No immediate cause for the fire was determined. The restaurant’s bar, Antlers, dated to 1932 and was believed to be the oldest continuously serving bar in North Carolina.

LAKE LURE

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will give the town $1.79 million to restore its marina docks, which were severely damaged during Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024. The total cost of the project is $1.9 million, with 90% covered by federal funds. ■

RURAL ROUTE

REWIRING MOBILITY AND PURPOSE

A modified four-wheeler fulfills Dillon Duncan’s need for speed.

EA Mars Hill company provides life-changing transport for disabled customers.

BY BILL HORNER III

aarly in Tommy Ausherman’s studies at Appalachian State, he wasn’t eyeing a start-up or a way to disrupt transportation. He just wanted to get to class alive.

Five undulating miles of roads and a heavily trafficked highway separated his Boone apartment and campus. Parking passes were pricey, and buses were unreliable. After twice getting brushed by passing trucks while riding his dad’s Trek mountain bike to class, he figured the safest way wasn’t slower.

It was faster.

A tinkerer from an early age, Ausherman modified the Trek by adding a trolling motor from a boat, powered by motorcycle batteries. It looked like a mechanical dare, but his new 150-pound e-bike hurtled him safely at 45 mph.

Tech- and engineer-minded classmates mocked the design. Before his 2010 graduation, though, Ausherman’s quest for lighter, sleeker and faster had him MacGyvering high-speed helicopter-motor-powered recumbent trikes in his basement for cash, launching the business that became Outrider USA.

The Mars Hill-based company has quietly found a niche in manufacturing adaptive lightweight four-wheel-drive electric vehicles. Its powerful, zippy-fast Coyote model has a range of more than 80 miles and easily navigates most reasonably boulder-free wilderness trails.

And though not initially Ausherman’s vision, 60% of buyers suffer from significant physical disabilities — many with paralysis.

WHITE-KNUCKLING

On a visit to Mars Hill, I strapped into a Coyote for a test run. After trailing Ausherman around the warehouse that’s home to Outrider and nine other businesses, he shifted my machine into the middle power level. Moments later, I was white-knuckling up a long, steep grassy incline at about half throttle, falling far behind Ausherman as his retriever/German Shepherd mix Bruce frolicked along. The Coyote’s stability and low center of gravity made it nearly impossible to flip, but its muscle was unexpectedly intimidating.

When Bruce suddenly leapt in front of me as I gunned through a muddy ditch, I let off the throttle and my “bike” — the common nomenclature for Coyote riders — stopped. Now mired, I was certain I’d need rescuing. But I thumbed the throttle and popped out easily, tackling the climb again with a little more confidence and a lot more speed.

That my ride was a bit raw and scary was fitting. Outrider’s 17-year history is more rough and tumble than most. The dizzying span between Ausherman’s first builds and the production of Coyote runs through peaks and valleys akin to his Madison County surroundings. Exhilarating ascents include world records and the nearly accidental discovery of providing disabled riders with invigorating transport. But there’s also economic exhaustion, supply chain nightmares, frustration and faith.

It leads back to Ausherman’s original calling: purpose and meaning, surprisingly found in a market that includes people whose bodies no longer function as designed, but whose desire for movement (really, just feeling wind in their hair again) remains intact.

THIN PAYOFF

Outrider relocated to the collaborative manufacturing site in Mars Hill in 2022 from its first real home in Fletcher, where for five years Ausherman and his two co-founders lived and worked in a windowless 750-square-foot flex space. He often slept in a closet-sized loft.

“It was teeny tiny,” Ausherman remembers. “Our sink drained into a 5-gallon bucket. It was pretty hilarious.”

But early three-wheeled machines they engineered and assembled made headlines and earned performance cred. One won the 2015 Pikes Peak Electric Bike Hill Climb, averaging 32 mph. Another hit 85 mph on the Hendersonville airstrip — setting a world record for under-100pound vehicles. (Unofficial but uncontested; footing the bill to have the Guinness folks deem it official wasn’t in the budget.)

Ausherman was having a blast. Financially, though, Outrider was barely sustainable. Trikes sold, but customizing each ride was demanding.

“I was like, ‘Oh, people are going to commute to work on these trikes,’” Ausherman says. “They’re going to save money on gas, and it’s going to help them live a healthier lifestyle. It’ll be a win-win. And they’re really cool machines.”

Some Outrider customers, though, were wealthy hobbyists using them as playthings. The payoff felt thin.

“They might run them once or twice a month,” Ausherman says. “You go through a struggle for a meaningful cause, and it’s bearable. But going through a struggle for someone’s toy is harder to get excited about.”

THE CALL

Nearing a breaking point in 2015, Ausherman slipped into an Asheville coffee shop and spent three hours trying to sketch out a business model that would reconcile purpose and profitability. For a guy who’d always been able to fix things, it seemed a problem without a solution.

Frustrated, he got into his car to drive home.

“I was just sitting there, and I said a really simple prayer,” he told me. “I was like, ‘Lord, I know you made me to make things. I’ll go wherever you want me to go. I’ll stay if you want me to stay, I’ll go if you want me to go. But I just want to make things that make a difference for people.’”

Ausherman, who found his Christian faith while attending App State, got a call days later from Chris Wenner, an inventor from Tucson, Arizona, who’d broken his neck in a diving accident 25 years earlier. Wenner had a recurring dream about a bike he could ride as a quadriplegic and built a prototype he couldn’t bring to market alone. Outrider eventually partnered with him, launched a successful $125,000 Kickstarter project, then committed fully to adaptive vehicles, trading novelty for necessity.

Prayer answered.

“If it were up to me, it would be performance to the end,” Ausherman says in a video posted on Outrider’s website. “Just go fast. I didn’t ever want to be involved in adaptive wheelchairs in the early days, but it was something that God clearly called me to. And I think he took my passion for off-road stuff to build a new kind of machine, one that has the capabilities to adapt as an off-road wheelchair, but one that looks cool and one that’s exciting to ride, and one that anyone would want to ride.”

Sparked by Wenner’s call, Outrider’s new three-wheeled Horizon model began shipping in 2016. It found a constituency among people

with paralysis, cerebral palsy, ALS, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and others whose conditions limited balance or endurance. Riders largely confined to their homes were suddenly navigating trails, hunting with friends, or simply “walking” their dogs again. Their collective experiences were transformational. Military veterans — many grappling with depression as much as physical injury — reported renewed independence. “Life changing” became the typical review.

Yet the complexity of the builds, compounded by pandemic-era supply chain disruptions, forced another evolution. With users pushing the rear-wheel drive machines beyond what they could handle, Outrider abandoned trikes in 2022 in favor of its Coyote four-wheel drive model. Simplifying manufacturing while expanding capability clarified the company’s identity. No longer chasing records, Outrider was engineering access and serving as a “wingbuilder” in users’ healing process.

No two Coyotes are alike. Controls can be configured for riders with no leg function, no hand function, or strength on only one side of the body. A single platform supports arm-powered hand cycles, throttleonly operation, tri-pin steering for quadriplegics and hybrid setups. Making them modular is easier to manufacture, which was the point.

“People aren’t modular,” Ausherman says. “So the machines have to be.”

KEEPING IT LOCAL

There’s momentum. Outrider was featured at this year’s Armed Forces Bowl college football game in Fort Worth, Texas, where two wounded veterans received Coyotes. The Department of Veterans Affairs approved the vehicles for qualifying vets. The Ruby Project, a nonprofit initiative, funded 17 machines for wounded service members.

Outrider also developed a motorized stretcher carrier designed for search-and-rescue operations, capable of transporting a Stokes basket through terrain inaccessible to ATVs or ambulances. It’s a typical Ausherman-like MacGyvering: fire departments along the Appalachian Trail love prototypes, which reduce average rescue times from three hours to one.

Challenges remain. Ausherman would love for Outrider’s staff of 12 to sell and ship more bikes and cut build lead times. Manufacturing in the U.S. in a space he loves (owned by Spark Robotic) means higher expenses. The average retail cost is about $22,000. Full of faith, Austherman believes that Outrider has just scratched the surface for off-road performance, range and adaptability.

“We’re not just putting stuff together,” he says. “We’re changing lives.”

Tommy Ausherman started making three-wheeled trikes in 2016, then switched to four-wheel ATVs in 2022.

FULL THROTTLE

Restoring one’s passion for the outdoors

Dillon Duncan’s lone memory of that first week in the hospital is his doctor saying everything had changed.

“He leans over my bedside and says, ‘Your life is different now. You’re going to have to find new hobbies because you can’t do the stuff you used to do. … Good luck.’”

Days before, on Aug. 22, 2010, Dillon drove to meet his father and brother for rifle practice and some hiking near the family’s home in Washington state. In a hurry — “like a typical dumbass, 16-year-old kid going way too fast on gravel roads” — he lost control, overcorrected twice and flipped his truck. Duncan, not wearing a seat belt, was ejected, his pelvis crushed.

That doctor’s visit was his welcome to paraplegia.

“I don’t remember my response,” Duncan says. “According to my dad, I told the doctor to go shove it where the sun doesn’t shine — and used a couple other choice words — and told him not to come back, and to find me a new doctor. I was pretty pissed.”

Now 32 and paralyzed from the chest down, Duncan lives in Texas and works in sales for an Idaho-based onion and potato grower. He speaks matter-of-factly about his determination to keep exploring the outdoors.

“Everything I had ever loved was outside — riding horses, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking,” he says. “It’s always been a part of who I am. When I wrecked my pickup, things changed fast. It was a huge learning curve getting back out and doing the things I enjoy.”

Various four-wheelers didn’t give him off-road access. When his father forwarded a link about Outrider USA’s Coyote, Duncan barely glanced at it. Six months later, Duncan still hadn’t. And six months after that, his father put down a deposit, insisting the adaptive four-wheeler would be “a game-changer.”

It has been. Duncan rides almost daily.

“The coolest thing with Outrider is that I’m now able to go anywhere you’re legally allowed to walk,” Duncan says. “It’s got a wide enough footprint, and it’s light enough that I can go off-road and reach places I haven’t been able to get to in 16 years.”

That includes a four-day hunting trip in west Texas with buddies just before Christmas. “There was a lot of sand, so I was pretty much full throttle the whole time,” he says. He also took a long hike into the Guadalupe Mountains with his girlfriend, Kayla. “I drove it hard,” he says, “bouncing it off rocks and pushing into stuff I’d get stuck in, and have to figure my way out of.”

When Duncan came home after three months in the hospital and rehab, he says he was “pretty bummed out” for a few weeks. “Then I realized, this is life,” he says. “I can still do things — it’s just different. It’s definitely harder. But that’s where the Coyote comes in. It’s given me a sense of freedom I haven’t had in a very long time.”

Bill Horner III is a third-generation newspaper publisher who was an owner and editor of The Sanford Herald and the Chatham News + Record. He and his wife Lee Ann live in Sanford. Reach him at bhorner@businessnc.com

NC COMMUNITY COLLEGES

With 58 community colleges across the state and hundreds of programs to choose from, North Carolina Community College System offers limitless opportunities to learn and grow. Nearly every North Carolina resident lives within a 30-minute drive of their local community college, making higher education easily accessible.

Offering a comprehensive range of curriculum programs and workforce continuing education courses, North Carolina’s community colleges are equipped to help you achieve almost any career or educational goal.

76

number of available workers for every 100 job openings in North Carolina, according to U.S. Chamber of Commerce 170%

80%

number of North Carolina Community College System students stay and work in the communities where they receive their training and education.

100%

645+ businesses started every year by the Small Business Center Network GUIDE TO SUCCESS

ROI on apprenticeship programs for employers

Fayetteville Tech PROFILE

percentage of community colleges that offer customized workforce training

COMMUNITY COLLEGES ACROSS THE STATE NC

ALAMANCE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Burlington, Graham | alamancecc.edu

ASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Arden, Asheville, Candler, Marshall, Woodfin abtech.edu

BEAUFORT COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Washington | beaufortccc.edu

BLADEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE Dublin | bladencc.edu

BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Brevard, Flat Rock, Hendersonville blueridge.edu

BRUNSWICK COMMUNITY COLLEGE Bolivia, Carolina Shores, Leland, Southport brunswickcc.edu

CALDWELL COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTE Boone, Hudson | cccti.edu

CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE Burgaw, Castle Hayne, Hampstead, Wilmington cfcc.edu

CARTERET COMMUNITY COLLEGE Morehead City | carteret.edu

CATAWBA VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Conover, Hickory, Newton, Taylorsville cvcc.edu

CENTRAL CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGE Dunn, Lillington, Pittsboro, Sanford, Siler City cccc.edu

CENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews | cpcc.edu

CLEVELAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE Shelby | clevelandcc.edu

COASTAL CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGE Jacksonville | coastalcarolina.edu

COLLEGE OF THE ALBEMARLE Barco, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Manteo albemarle.edu

CRAVEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE Havelock, New Bern | cravencc.edu

DAVIDSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Bermuda Run, Lexington, Mocksville, Thomasville | davidsonccc.edu

DURHAM TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE Durham, Hillsborough | durhamtech.edu

EDGECOMBE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Rocky Mount, Tarboro | edgecombe.edu

FAYETTEVILLE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Spring Lake faytechcc.edu

FORSYTH TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE Kernersville, King, Walnut Cove, Winston-Salem forsythtech.edu

GASTON COLLEGE Belmont, Dallas, Lincolnton | gaston.edu

GUILFORD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE Colfax, Greensboro, High Point, Jamestown gtcc.edu

HALIFAX COMMUNITY COLLEGE Weldon | halifaxcc.edu

HAYWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE Clyde | haywood.edu

ISOTHERMAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE Columbus, Rutherfordton, Spindale isothermal.edu

JAMES SPRUNT COMMUNITY COLLEGE Kenansville | jamessprunt.edu

JOHNSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Clayton, Four Oaks, Smithfield | johnstoncc. edu

LENOIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE Kinston, La Grange, Pink Hill, Snow Hill, Trenton lenoircc.edu

MARTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE Williamston, Windsor | martincc.edu

MAYLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE Burnsville, Newland, Spruce Pine | mayland.edu

MCDOWELL TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE Marion | mcdowelltech.edu

MITCHELL COMMUNITY COLLEGE Mooresville, Statesville | mitchellcc.edu

MONTGOMERY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Troy | montgomery.edu

NASH COMMUNITY COLLEGE Rocky Mount | nashcc.edu

PAMLICO COMMUNITY COLLEGE Bayboro, Grantsboro | pamlicocc.edu

PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE Roxboro, Yanceyville | piedmontcc.edu

PITT COMMUNITY COLLEGE Winterville | pittcc.edu

RANDOLPH COMMUNITY COLLEGE Asheboro | randolph.edu

RICHMOND COMMUNITY COLLEGE Hamlet, Laurinburg | richmondcc.edu

ROANOKE-CHOWAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE Ahoskie | roanokechowan.edu

ROBESON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Lumberton | robeson.edu

ROCKINGHAM COMMUNITY COLLEGE Wentworth | rockinghamcc.edu

ROWAN-CABARRUS COMMUNITY COLLEGE Concord, Kannapolis, Salisbury | rccc.edu

SAMPSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Clinton | sampsoncc.edu

SANDHILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE Pinehurst, Raeford, Robbins, Carthage sandhills.edu

SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE Whiteville | sccnc.edu

SOUTH PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE Monroe, Polkton, Wadesboro | spcc.edu

SOUTHWESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE Sylva | southwesterncc.edu

STANLY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Albemarle, Locust | stanly.edu

SURRY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Dobson, Elkin, Mount Airy, Pilot Mountain, Yadkinville surry.edu

TRI-COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Marble, Murphy, Robbinsville | tricountycc. edu

VANCE-GRANVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Creedmoor, Henderson, Louisburg, Warrenton vgcc.edu

WAKE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE Cary, Morrisville, Raleigh, Wake Forest, Zebulon waketech.edu

WAYNE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Goldsboro | waynecc.edu

WESTERN PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE Morganton | wpcc.edu

WILKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE Sparta, West Jefferson, Wilkesboro wilkescc.edu

WILSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Wilson | wilsoncc.edu

COMMUNITY COLLEGES ON THE MAP NC

North Carolina’s Community College System is a powerful partner for businesses across the state, offering workforce solutions designed to drive growth, innovation and competitiveness. With 58 colleges strategically located throughout North Carolina, nearly every employer has convenient access to high-quality training, education and support services tailored to meet evolving industry demands.

Community colleges work directly with businesses to develop custom training programs that address specific operational needs, from onboarding new employees to implementing advanced technologies. Many of these programs are available at little to no cost through state-funded workforce initiatives, helping companies control expenses while strengthening their teams. Whether upskilling incumbent workers or preparing new hires for high-demand fields such as advanced manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, skilled trades, transportation, or biotechnology, colleges provide a reliable pipeline of job-ready talent.

In addition to training, community colleges support work-based learning opportunities such as registered apprenticeships, internships and cooperative education programs. These partnerships allow employers to cultivate skilled workers while reducing recruitment risks. Small businesses and entrepreneurs also benefit from free counseling, startup guidance, and professional development resources offered through Small Business Centers across the state.

By collaborating with local economic developers, North Carolina’s community colleges play a vital role in attracting new industries and supporting business expansions. Flexible delivery options — including on-site, online, and evening or weekend classes — ensure training fits seamlessly into company operations. Together, these services position the North Carolina Community College System as a strategic ally committed to strengthening the state’s workforce and sustaining long-term economic success.

Sandhills Community College Collision Engineering Career Alliance is designed to prepare students for successful careers in the collision repair industry.

BIGandBETTER

Large systems dominate Business North Carolina’s annual look at the clinical, safety and patient satisfaction performance of the state’s best hospitals.

By Kevin Ellis and David Mildenberg

In ranking North Carolina’s top hospitals, biggest has consistently equated to the best, with Duke University Hospital topping Business North Carolina’s annual ranking for the third consecutive year.

Aided by a global reputation for excellence, the Durham hospital generated more than $4 billion in annual revenue in 2024, according to the Definitive Healthcare research firm. That was about $400 million more than the state’s secondlargest hospital, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

North Carolina’s hospital industry has consolidated over the past 20 years, with Atrium, Novant Health and UNC Health making acquisitions and signing management contracts with smaller peers. Duke University was less active until last April, when it acquired Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville for about $284 million. It is the first hospital outside the Raleigh-Durham area that uses the Duke Health brand.

BNC creates its list by using more than 25 healthcare metrics, with a significant weighting based on data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The report includes patient-satisfaction surveys, infections, readmissions and mortality rates for common procedures. Other data

includes safety report cards by Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit The Leapfrog Group, distinction awards from insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and national performance ratings from U.S. News & World Report.

The methodology to create this list favors large institutions, which gain more points based on national awards and performance rankings. Smaller hospitals perform fewer procedures, which eliminates those institutions from select categories used for calculations.

Most of the top hospitals on the list are part of the state’s four biggest hospital systems. Exceptions include WakeMed in Raleigh and Cary, FirstHealth Moore in Pinehurst, CaroMont Health in Gastonia, and CarolinaEast in New Bern.

Asheville’s Mission Hospital declined to 11th in the rankings after tying with Duke as the state’s top-rated hospital in last year’s survey. A key factor was a mediocre score for patient satisfaction in 2024, as reported by the federal Medicare and Medicaid agency. Results for 2025 haven’t been published. Mission is owned by HCA Healthcare, of Nashville, Tennessee, and is the only institution in the rankings that is a publicly traded, investor-owned institution.

BNC TOP HOSPITALS  2026 RANKINGS

PRESIDENT: GREGORY PAULY

1,062

PRESIDENT: CHAD SETLIFF BEDS: 489

CONE HEALTH GREENSBORO

CEO: DR. PAUL KRAKOVITZ (EFFECTIVE MARCH 16) BEDS: 628

UNC HOSPITAL CHAPEL HILL

INTERIM PESIDENT: JEFF LINDSAY BEDS: 1,032

NOVANT HEALTH PRESBYTERIAN CHARLOTTE

PRESIDENT: JAMIE FEINOUR BEDS: 643

ATRIUM CAROLINAS MEDICAL CENTER CHARLOTTE

PRESIDENT: VICKI BLOCK BEDS: 1,220

WAKEMED RALEIGH RALEIGH

CEO: DONALD GINTZIG BEDS: 765

FACILTY EXECUTIVE: ASHA RODRIGUEZ BEDS: 457

PRESIDENT: JONATHAN DAVIS BEDS:402 FIRSTHEALTH

CAROLINAEAST MEDICAL CENTER

CEO: MICHAEL SMITH BEDS: 350

ATRIUM HEALTH PINEVILLE

FACILITY EXECUTIVE: ALICIA CAMPBELL BEDS:379

ATRIUM HEALTH WAKE FOREST BAPTIST WINSTONSALEM

PRESIDENT: CATHLEEN WHEATLEY BEDS:885

NOVANT HEALTH NEW HANOVER WILMINGTON

PRESIDENT: LAURIE WHALIN BEDS:823

NOVANT HEALTH MATTHEWS

PRESIDENT: ZACK LANDRY BEDS:157

UNC PARDEE HENDERSONVILLE

CEO: JAMES M. KIRBY II BEDS:222

WAKEMED CARY CARY

CEO: DONALD R. GINTZIG BEDS:690

ECU HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER GREENVILLE

PRESIDENT: JAY BRILEY BEDS:974

IREDELL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL STATESVILLE

CEO: JOHN GREEN BEDS:199

PRESIDENT: JASON CARTER BEDS: 381

PRESIDENT: ALISHA HUTCHENS

978 NOVANT

MISSION HOSPITAL

CEO: GREG LOWE BEDS: 853

CAPE FEAR VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER FAYETTEVILLE

CEO: MICHAEL NAGOWSKI BEDS:770

CATAWBA VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER HICKORY

CEO: DENNIS JOHNSON BEDS: 258

FRYE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER HICKORY

CEO: DR. PHILIP GREENE BEDS:355

01

DUKE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL DURHAM

BEDS: 1,062

GREG PAULY

In 1925, James B. Duke willed $4 million to establish Duke University Hospital and its medical and nursing schools. It would open in 1930 with 400 beds. Duke University Hospital, now licensed for 1,062 beds, remains both a research and a teaching hospital for Duke University School of Medicine.

While it has about 100 fewer beds than Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, its $4.17 billion in patient revenue ranks top in the state, according to the Definitive Healthcare research firm. Duke University Health had total revenue of more than $7 billion in fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.

Duke University Hospital has more than 11,000 employees and, in 2023, admitted 41,549 patients. The School of Medicine has 6,000 staff members, including 2,600 faculty physicians and researchers, and more than 2,200 students.

For 14 consecutive grading periods, Duke University Hospital has received top scores for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that rates hospitals for patient quality and safety. U.S. News and World Report ranked it as the state’s best hospital, with 11 adult and 10 pediatric specialties nationally ranked.

The National Institutes of Health awarded Duke University

School of Medicine almost $455 million in federal funding last fiscal year, more than 21% less than the year before. That ranked first in North Carolina and 13th nationally, down from seventh the year before. In July, the Trump Administration froze $108 millions of dollars in research grants after the government launched two investigations related to “systemic racial discriminination” at both Duke Health and the School of Medicine related to “hiring, student admissions, governance, patient care and other operations.”

Duke University did not immediately respond to the allegations. A total of 599 Duke University employees, including some at the School of Medicine, accepted voluntary separation agreements in July.

In December, Duke Health announced the hiring of Dr. Bradley Marino, a nationally recognized leader in pediatric cardiology and critical care medicine as the chair of the Department of Pediatrics and pediatrician-in-chief of Duke Health, effective March 30. Marino is expected to play a key role in the Duke Health and UNC Health partnership to build a $2 billion 500-bed children’s hospital in Apex, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and opening in the 2030s. ■

BEDS: 489

hospital in North Carolina to receive a fifth Magnet designation.

UNC Rex is the state’s eighth-largest hospital based on its $1.5 billion in patient revenues, despite having fewer beds than the top 13 hospitals on the Definitive Healthcare list. It has more than 6,400 staff members, including 1,100 physicians and 1,700 nurses. In comparison, WakeMed has 276 more beds than UNC Rex, excluding Rex’s 120 nursing home beds.

In February, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services granted UNC Rex permission to add 20 beds and two additional operating rooms at a cost of $16.5 million. However, state regulators rejected its plan to build a 50-bed hospital in Wake Forest at a cost of about $460 million.

In September, UNC Rex again submitted plans to build a 50-bed UNC Health Rex Wake Forest Hospital at a cost of $485.5 million, to be completed in July 2031. It also submitted plans to spend $98.4 million to add a 106-bed tower at its main hospital in Raleigh, to be completed by November 2030. Duke Health, WakeMed and Novant each submitted competing proposals, with a decision on the certificate of need request expected soon.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center gave UNC Rex its fifth Magnet designation, recognizing the hospital’s nurses’ dedication to patient care. Rex is only the second

UNC Rex bounced back with an “A” grade for patient quality and safety from The Leapfrog Group in the fall of 2025. It had been one of only 15 hospitals in the nation with a consecutive streak of more than 20 A-grades dating back to 2012, before falling to a B grade in the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025.

In August, state regulators approved an $18.5 million Rex Holly Springs Hospital plan to develop 24 patient observation beds on its seventh floor. The 50bed hospital in the fast-growing Wake County town opened in 2021. The expansion is expected to be completed in late 2026. ■

PRESIDENT: CHAD SETLIFF

CONE HEALTH GREENSBORO TIED

BEDS: 628

GREENSBORO MARKET PRESIDENT:

MICHAEL BUNDY

Last April, the hospital opened the $100 million Steven D. Bell Family Heart & Vascular Center that the head of cardiovascular services called the “beating heart of Cone Health.” The center is expected to treat 120,000 patients annually and consolidates four or five locations into a single site for what officials call “complete heart care.”

The 628-bed Moses Cone Hospital is the dominant asset of Greensboro-based Cone Health, which merged into Risant Health in December 2024. Risant is a unit of Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente, the largest U.S. operator of not-for-profit hospitals. Cone Health had $3.14 billion in revenue in 2024 and has more than 13,000 employees, 150 locations and more than 120 physician practices.

As part of the Risant deal, Cone Health pledged to invest as much as $1.7 billion in the system over a decade. Some of that is headed to Mebane, where Cone Health won state approval in September for a $250 million, 46-bed hospital, topping a rival bid from Duke Health and Novant Health. The Alamance County hospital is expected to open in 2029.

Late last year, Cone Health named Paul Krakovitz as its new CEO, effective in March. He succeeds Bernard Sherry, who had the post on an interim basis after the retirement of Dr. Mary Jo Cagle in May 2025. Krakovitz was most recently an executive-in-residence at Cressey & Company, a Chicago-based firm that makes healthcare investments. He previously was president of the Desert region for Intermountain Health, a large Salt Lake City, Utah-based hospital system. ■

UNC HOSPITAL CHAPEL HILL TIED

VICE PRESIDENT: ASHA RODRIGUEZ

BEDS: 457 | 2023 RANK: 7

BEDS: 1,032 PRESIDENT: JEFF LINDSAY

UNC Medical Center’s $3.1 billion in patient revenue ranks it the third-largest hospital in North Carolina and 26th nationally. The hospital has more than 7,100 employees, including 1,100 medical staff and 780 resident physicians.

UNC Hospitals attained Magnet designation for a fourth time from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a recognition earned by fewer than 10% of hospitals nationwide. It’s considered the highest national honor for nurses.

In the fall of 2026, at the earliest, UNC Health will take over student healthcare services from Campus Health, which has provided primary healthcare to Tar Heel students for more than 100 years.

From July 2024 through June 2025, funding for UNC School of Medicine research totaled more than $641 million, including $345 million from the National Institutes of Health.

In November, Dr. Cristy Page succeeded Dr. Wesley Burks as CEO of UNC Health and dean of the UNC School of Medicine. UNC Health is a $7.4 billion operation that includes 20 hospital campuses, 900 clinics and about 56,000 employees. UNC’s medical school graduates more than 200 physicians each year.

In October, UNC Health submitted a bid to state regulators to build a 129-bed hospital in Buncombe County at a cost of $711 million. It faces competition from three larger rivals, Florida-based Advent Health, which has nearby hospitals in Henderson and Columbus, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare, which operates the region’s biggest hospital, Mission Hospital in Asheville, and Winston-Salem-based Novant Health, the state’s secondlargest system. A decision is expected by the end of March. ■

TIED

NOVANT HEALTH PRESBYTERIAN CHARLOTTE

BEDS: 643

PRESIDENT: JAMIE FEINOUR

Novant Health’s flagship Charlotte hospital named a new president and disclosed a plan for training new physicians, starting next year.

Jamie Feinour became president of the hospital last spring, succeeding Saad Ethitisham, who had the job since 2019. He is now CEO of Morristown, New Jersey-based Atlantic Health, which has six hospitals in the Garden State.

Since 2021, Feinour had been chief operating officer of Presbyterian and its adjacent Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital. She reports to Dr. Sid Fletcher, president of the Charlotte region.

Meanwhile, Novant said it would expand residencies for would-be physicians in 2027, with plans for 100 slots by 2032. Novant announced the move a week after rival Atrium welcomed about 50 students in the first cohort of the new Wake Forest University medical school campus in Charlotte.

In December, Novant Health’s effort to expand its hospital in Charlotte’s Elizabeth neighborhood by 120 beds was rebuffed by state health regulators. Instead, Atrium was awarded rights to add 115 beds at its flagship Carolinas Medical Center site, which is about a mile

away. Officials cited utilization, competition and scope of services as factors for favoring Atrium.

Charlotte Presbyterians started the hospital in 1903 and relocated to its current location in 1917. It combined with the owners of Winston-Salem’s Forsyth Memorial Hospital to create Novant Health in 1997. ■

ATRIUM CAROLINAS MEDICAL CENTER CHARLOTTE

BEDS: 1,220

PRESIDENT: VICKI BLOCK

Atrium Health is expanding aggressively across the Charlotte metro area with plans for a $219 million hospital in Harrisburg in Cabarrus County and a $450 million hospital in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Last July, it opened a 26-bed hospital in Cornelius in north Mecklenburg County after debuting the 40-bed Atrium Health Union West near Stallings in Union County.

For size and scope, however, nothing compares with the $900 million-plus construction of Atrium’s 12-story, 1.1 million-square-foot tower at Carolinas Medical Center, the system’s flagship hospital. Atrium says the new building will enable improved technology and help alleviate overcrowding with about 450 patient rooms, more than 50 operating and procedure rooms and a new emergency department. It will connect with the existing Rush S. Dickson Tower.

After construction is completed next year, Atrium has said the expansion will add 191 beds, putting the overall complex’s total to more than1,300, including pyschiatric, rehab and abuse.

Charlotte Memorial Hospital opened on the site in 1940 and has grown to be the state’s second-largest hospital by revenue, trailing Duke University Medical Center. Contractors for the new tower are Santa Clara, California-based DPR Construction and Charlotte’s Rodgers Builders.

There’s plenty of growth also 20 miles north at Atrium Health Cabarrus, where state regulators in August approved a 76-bed expansion. The former Northeast Medical Center hospital became part of the Atrium system in 2007 and now has 457 licensed beds.

It operates in one of the fastest-growing parts of the Charlotte region. It will face increased competition from Novant Health, which is building a $336 million, 50-bed hospital in nearby Kannapolis. It is slated to open in 2030.

Atrium Health Cabarrus “regularly exceeded 100% occupancy” in 2024, which delayed surgical procedures, patients transfers from the ER and post-surgery recovery rooms, Atrium said in seeking an expansion. ■

765

WakeMed continues to grow effectively versus its larger peers UNC Health and Duke Health, which have a major presence in Wake County.

A lot of the credit goes to CEO Donald Gintzing, who retired in September 2013 as the No. 2 executive in the Navy’s medical services. Within a month, he was hired to lead WakeMed, which was struggling financially.

Thirteen years later, the not-for-profit hospital is stronger, though it remains smaller and reports less capital than rivals Duke Health, UNC Health and Novant Health, which is expanding in the Triangle. WakeMed reported net income of $176.7 million in its 2025 fiscal year, and $11.2 million in the previous year. Revenue in the system has surged from $1.4 billion in 2019 to $2.6 billion last year.

The not-for-profit system is planning a major renovation at its main Raleigh campus, where it has asked state regulators to add a 103-bed tower at the New Bern Avenue institution. It has also started construction on its Whole Health Campus in Garner, where it plans a 150bed behavioral health hospital and a separate 45-bed acute-care facility.

WakeMed is Wake County’s leader in delivering babies, reporting about 10,000 births annually. That equates to a new kindergarten class being born within the WakeMed system every day. WakeMed has about 12,370 employees, including 7,032 at its Raleigh campus. WakeMed has also operated in Cary since 1991, with a 208-bed hospital there, and in north Raleigh with a 77-bed hospital that opened in 2015. ■

ATRIUM HEALTH CABARRUS CONCORD

BEDS: 457 FACILITY EXECUTIVE: ASHA RODRIGUEZ

Atrium Health is expanding aggressively across the Charlotte metro area with plans for a $219 million hospital in Harrisburg in Cabarrus County and a $450 million hospital in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Last July, it opened a 26-bed hospital in Cornelius in north Mecklenburg County after debuting the 40-bed Atrium Health Union West near Stallings in Union County.

For size and scope, however, nothing compares with the $900 million-plus construction of Atrium’s 12-story, 1.1 million-square-foot tower at Carolinas Medical Center, the system’s flagship hospital. Atrium says the new building will enable improved technology and help alleviate overcrowding with about 450 patient rooms, more than 50 operating and procedure rooms and a new emergency department. It will connect with the existing Rush S. Dickson Tower.

After construction is completed next year, Atrium has said the expansion will add 191 beds, putting the overall complex’s total to more than 1,050.

Charlotte Memorial Hospital opened on the site in 1940 and has grown to be the state’s second-largest hospital by revenue, trailing Duke University Medical Center. Contractors for the new tower are Santa Clara, California-based DPR Construction and Charlotte’s Rodgers Builders.

There’s plenty of growth also 20 miles north at Atrium Health Cabarrus, where state regulators in August approved a 76-bed expansion. The former Northeast Medical Center hospital became part of the Atrium system in 2007 and now has 457 licensed beds. It operates in one of the fastest-growing parts of the Charlotte region. It will face increased competition from Novant Health, which is building a $336 million, 50-bed hospital in nearby Kannapolis. It is slated to open in 2030.

Atrium Health Cabarrus “regularly exceeded 100% occupancy” in 2024, which delayed surgical procedures, patients transfers from the ER and post-surgery recovery rooms, Atrium said in seeking an expansion. ■

BEDS: 402

PRESIDENT: JONATHAN DAVIS

FirstHealth Moore’s patient revenue of $906.8 million makes the Pinehurst hospital the 14th largest in the state, according to Definitive Healthcare. Since opening in 1929 with 33 beds, five bassinets and a staff of 27, it has grown to include a medical staff of 287 physicians, a staff of 2,700 and an average of 900 volunteers.

Last year, FirstHealth became the first health system in North Carolina to use a tool to help pulmonologists detect lung cancer. The Van Gogh Microscopy System is used during lung biopsies to help pulmonologists ensure they’ve collected the right kind of tissue, giving patients answers faster and avoiding the need for repeat procedures.

In January, FirstHealth of the Carolinas started construction on a $50 million addition to Moore Regional Hospital — Hoke in Raeford. It will add 24 beds in a two-story, 35,280-square-foot hospital tower.

Also in January, The Foundation of FirstHealth announced it had hit its $1 million goal for the FirstFutures campaign launched in 2024. That amount will be matched by a donor family and support efforts to recruit and train healthcare staff.

For four consecutive grading periods, FirstHealth Moore has received an A grade from The Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that rates hospitals for patient quality and safety. FirstHealth of the Carolina has 6,600 employees and four hospitals with 610 beds. It serves a 15-county area in the mid-Carolinas. ■

FIRSTHEALTH MOORE REGIONAL HOSPITAL PINEHURST 10

DUKE REGIONAL HOSPITAL DURHAM

BEDS: 388

PRESIDENT: JASON CARTER

In May, Duke Health named Jason Carter president and chief operating officer of the 388-bed hospital in north Durham. He joined Duke Health in November 2023 as the hospital’s chief operating officer after previously working for the University of Maryland Health System, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Novant Health and ECU Health.

Duke Regional has more than 3,500 employees and reported $544.8 million in patient revenue last year. In fiscal year 2023, it admitted almost 16,000 patients.

Duke Regional ranked No. 1 in social responsibility in a national survey of nearly 2,700 acute-care hospitals, marking the third straight year the Durham hospital has received the top honor. The survey by the Needham, Massachusetts-based Lown Institute looks at data from various sources related to equity, value and patient outcomes.

The hospital was formed in 1976 through the merger of Lincoln Hospital, which mainly served Black residents, and Watts Hospital, which catered to white people.

Durham County ran the hospital until 1998, when Duke University signed a management contract. In 2013, the hospital was renamed Duke Regional Hospital.

A 15-member board oversees the hospital in collaboration with the

engagement and inclusion at LeChase Construction, chairs the

university. Denise Barnes, who is regional director of community

board. ■

RANKED HOSPITALS

N.C. acute-care hospitals that received the 5-star overall rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2025.

Duke University Hospital, Durham

UNC Pardee, Hendersonville

UNC Hospital, Chapel Hill

UNC Rex, Raleigh

WakeMed Cary Hospital, Cary

Davie Medical Center, Bermuda Run

ECU Health Bertie Hospital, Bertie

Asheville-Oteen VA Medical Center, Asheville

N.C. acute-care hospitals that received the 4-star overall rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2025.

AdventHealth, Hendersonville

Atrium Health Lincoln, Lincolnton

CaroMont Health Medical Center, Gastonia

Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, Greensboro

Duke Regional Hospital, Durham

ECU Health Duplin

First Health Moore Medical Center, Pinehurst

Mission Hospital, Asheville

Northern Regional Hospital, Mount Airy

Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Supply

Novant Health Matthews Medical Center, Matthews

Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, Charlotte

Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, Winston-Salem

Novant Health Medical Park, Winston-Salem

NovantHealth, Huntersville

WakeMed Raleigh

Watauga Medical Center, Boone

Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA

The state’s largest health insurer recognizes hospitals for their quality of care in certain specialties, based on criteria including patient safety and results and input from the medical community. The hospitals listed here were designated as blue distinction centers as of early January.

Hugh Chatham Memorial, Elkin

Knee/hip replacement

Iredell Memorial, Statesville

Maternity care

Lexington Memorial, Lexington

Knee/hip replacement

Onslow Memorial, Jacksonville

Maternity care

Novant Health Davie County, Bermuda Run

Knee/hip replacement

Novant New Hanover, Wilmington Cardiac

Novant Health Presbyterian, Charlotte Cardiac

Parham Medical Center, Henderson

Maternity care

Randolph Hospital, Asheboro

Knee/hip replacement

Rutherford Regional, Rutherfordton

Knee/hip replacement

Sentara Albemarle, Elizabeth City

Maternity care; Knee/hip replacement

UNC Health, Nash

Knee/hip replacement, maternity care

UNC Pardee, Hendersonville

Knee/hip replacement

UNC Health Rex, Raleigh Cardiac; spine surgery

UNC Hospitals, Chapel Hill

Cardiac adult bone marrow/ Stem cell; transplant - pediatric bone marrow/stem cell

WakeMed, Cary Spine surgery

WakeMed Raleigh Campus, Raleigh

Knee/hip replacement; maternity care; spine surgery

These are the top acute-care hospitals in the state based on the percentage of patients who would recommend the hospital to others, as of December 2025. The ranking is based on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, a survey completed by adult hospital patients between 48 hours and six weeks after discharge.

THE N.C. HOSPITAL EXPLOSION

Healthcare expansions are common across the state, reflecting the state’s growth, an aging population and ambitious systems. Here’s a sampling of new and pending projects.

THE PEARL: The $1.5 billion innovation district, which includes the Charlotte campus of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, opened in June. It is a public-private partnership led by Charlotte-based Atrium Health, Baltimore-based Wexford Science & Technology and Ventas, a Chicago-based real estate firm.

The site includes the North America headquarters of IRCAD, (Research Institute Against Digestive Cancer) which expects to attract thousands of surgeons each year to the Queen City for training. It has partnerships with major healthcare companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Siemens Healthineers, Boston Scientific and Stryker. It’s expected to have an annual economic impact of $811 million.

Over the next 15 years, the district is projected to generate more than 5,500 on-site jobs and more than 11,500 total jobs across the region.

CAROMONT REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER — BELMONT: The $260 million, 54-bed hospital opened in January 2025 and will serve Gaston, Mecklenburg and Lincoln counties and York County, South Carolina. It is also a training site for nurses at nearby Belmont Abbey College.

ATRIUM HEALTH LAKE NORMAN: The 36-bed hospital in Cornelius opened July 1 with12 beds dedicated to women’s and children’s healthcare. It will serve patients in northern Mecklenburg County. The project cost was about $247.5 million.

facility opened in September near the system’s main medical center in Greenville. It offers inpatient and outpatient programs for adolescents, children, adults and seniors facing acute mental health conditions such as depression and bipolar disorder. It includes 24 beds assigned to pediatric patients. The $70 million investment is a joint venture between the Greenville-based health system and Acadia Healthcare, based in Franklin, Tennessee.

PENDING PROJECTS

NC CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL: A partnership between UNC Health and Duke Health projects a standalone children’s hospital in Apex. Organizers expect construction on the $2 billion, 500bed hospital to begin in 2027.

NOVANT SCOTTS HILL MEDICAL CENTER: This 78-bed hospital will open later this year and serve patients in New Hanover and Pender counties. It joins Novant Health hospitals in Wilmington and Bolivia in Brunswick County. In February, Grant Rush was named president of the new medical center. Rush has been with Novant since 2011 and has a master’s in health administration from UNC Chapel Hill.

bout three years ago, Methodist announced a partnership with Cape Fear Valley Health to create a medical school in Fayetteville.

In July, the first in a 64-member will arrive at Methodist University Cape Fear Health School of Medicine, promising to improve health outcomes across eastern North Carolina and an economic jolt. An NC State economist estimates the school will add $750 million to the region’s economy over its first 10 years.

Creating a medical school from scratch is no easy lift, says founding Dean Hershey Bell, although the shared visions of two homegrown Cumberland institutions made the path easier.

Medical school survived inertia and discussions with two other universities before the eventual partnership with Methodist, he adds.

The project is a capstone in the careers of Michael Nagowski, CEO of Fear Valley Health since 2008 and Methodist President Wearden.

three University announced Fear Health school students cohort Methodist Valley Medicine, health eastern provide An estimates $750 economy medical easy Dean the two County the plans pandemic-related start-and-stop other the capstone Michael Cape 2008 and Methodist University President Stanley Wearden. Nagowski eightnot-for-profi Wearden down private with

Nagowski is retiring on July 1 after leading the eighthospital, not-for-profit system since 2008. Wearden is stepping down on June 30, 2027. He has led the university with 2,300 students since 2019.

Backed

Joined at the hip

by Cape Fear Valley Health, Methodist University and Dean Hershey Bell welcome the first medical school class this summer.

By Kevin Ellis

In an interview, Bell described the school’s development, potential for making a lasting impact on rural health and how the university-health system partnership can bene t North Carolina. He joined Cape Fear Valley in August 2021 a er serving as the dean of the pharmacy school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Methodist University owns the school, but Cape Fear Valley Health drove the process. How does that work?

I want to go back in history a little bit. In the golden era of medical schools, which was from 1910 to maybe 2000, universities would develop medical schools, they would build hospitals and all that. What changed around the early 2000s was that health systems realized that having a medical school allows you to create a collection of services and physicians that enable them to a ord their agenda much more e ectively.

e most important thing about a medical school education is having clinical spots for your students. To have a health system is a huge advantage. e signi cance of the health system cannot be understated.

at was the rationale for putting the medical school building on the campus of Cape Fear Valley. But it’s not just Cape Fear Valley Medical Center [in Fayetteville.] It's Bladen Hospital. It's Hoke hospital. It's Harnett Health System. It is the rehab hospital. It's our psychiatry hospital. It's 95 outpatient practices. Every single piece of the health system will participate in the medical education program.

e fact that the health system drove the initial agenda, that was wonderful. It helps that the health system was such a well-run, e cient health system and had put away money in the background to save for this kind of project.

It cost $130 million to start a medical school before the rst cent comes through the door. It's an incredibly expensive proposition, and a lot of hospitals don't have that kind of cash hanging around.

What will this do for healthcare in eastern North Carolina?

Just from the residency programs, 50% of our residents who are eligible to start practice have stayed here in Cumberland County, Fayetteville, and the surrounding counties.

Since we announced the medical school, we have physicians applying to be sta at Cape Fear Valley, who are here because they want to be faculty of the medical school. We're in the education business, that alone has changed the access to healthcare and the health outcomes.

When you couple it with the fact, and this comes from the Association of American Medical Colleges, if a student does medical school and residency in the same location, 70% will stay in that location, because they know the physicians. ey know the people. ey have become part of the community. ey've gotten married, have had children here. ey wanna stay.

If they're from the region, it's even higher. So that's how we're going to have an impact. And because the health system has its tentacles throughout the region, we're going to see it in every single county.

How has the admission process gone?

We've received almost 1,500 applications for 64 rst-year positions. Of that number, 23% of the applicants are from North Carolina. In terms of the o ers made so far, about 21% have gone out to North Carolina students.

We have an admissions committee made up of faculty. ey have a rubric, and we build in factors for students who are from this region. We also look at military folks because right next door to us is Fort Bragg.

But even more important, and I can't overstate how important it is that organizations reach out to us: the Cumberland County Commissioners, the Cumberland Community Foundation, the Duke Endowment and others who have all given us money to support scholarships for students from this region.

So all of these things together, the way we look at students through the rubric, the scholarship dollars we have available, the pathway programs, they're driving students from this region to this school. And that's very important to us.

(By 2032, the class size is expected to grow from 64 to 120 students per year, for a total of 480 students at a given time.)

How much does it cost to train a medical school student?

Our cost to train each student is about $90,000 to $100,000 a year. We're collecting tuition of about $68,000 a year. e all-in cost includes the cost of a physician’s time, the cost of facilities, etc., and the costs far exceed what a student is paying. at's why hospitals and academic health systems are necessary to backstop medical schools, because it's such an expensive venture.

How many faculty members will the school hire?

If I'm running a College of Arts and Science, I have to hire all my faculty, right? Medical schools aren't like that. What medical schools do is they hire administrative faculty, and key Ph.Ds, who are non-clinicians. By the end of the second year of operation, that number will peak at 100. Of those, 50% or less are faculty. e faculty of our medical school is primarily the physicians who are employed by Cape Fear Valley Health or who are independent physicians.

We have a funds- ow model with Cape Fear Valley, where we protect [physicians’] time, so that they have time to do the work, and the cost to protect that time is an exchange of dollars that ow through the medical system, medical school and the health system.

We have 1,000 physicians who are ready to be brought on for faculty. We haven't enrolled all of them, but the goal is eventually to get everyone on board.

What did Methodist bring?

e biggest piece was when Methodist in 2015 decided to start graduate medical education programs. ey already have a strong footprint in health professions, from occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistants, nursing, clinical social work, health administration and kinesiology.

One of the requirements of medical education is you have to do what's called interprofessional education. A lot of schools struggle with where they’re going to nd partners for that. Ours live right here with us at Methodist University.

Cape Fear Valley’s Physician Residency Program launched in 2017 with 51 residents and has grown to almost 400 physicians in training. One of the requirements of undergraduate medical education is having residents involved in the education of the team. (Bell had been vice president for Cape Fear Valley’s Medical Education Program Development.)

How did the partnership between Methodist and Cape Fear Valley Health come together?

I came here in August 2021 to work at Cape Fear Valley Health a er rst talking with Mike Nagowski in 2019 about his vision of starting a medical school.

At the time, we hadn’t identi ed a speci c partner. Advice from outside consultants suggested that if we were going to start a medical school, maybe talk to schools that already had one.

We talked to Campbell University, but why would a school already with a medical school want a second one 45 minutes away?

We talked to Drexel University for about a year, and they have a main campus in Philadelphia and a second campus in Reading, Pennsylvania, that we were sort of looking at emulating here in Fayetteville. But in the end, they said two’s enough.

Mike (Nagowski) and Stan (Wearden) had previously talked in 2019, and there was interest at that rst meeting. When the pieces didn’t come together, Mike went back to Stan the week before anksgiving in 2022. Within three months, we put a deal together.

ere was clear excitement on both sides, and for a lot of us, we all thought that Methodist is really the right partner here. No. 1, they’re in Fayetteville. No. 2, their culture and their mission were strongly aligned with Cape Fear Valley. ey are community-oriented and service-oriented. ey wanted to make a di erence in this community, and it's exactly what Cape Fear Valley wanted to do. ■

Change the world

WBy Tucker Mitchell

Peacehaven Farm envisions a diverse community that honors the disabled. Is the world ready?

hile the world in general bubbles and boils with endless con ict, a small nonpro t based northeast of Greensboro wonders why we can’t set aside our di erences and get along. And not just get along, but live together. Literally. Like next door, in the same neighborhood. Peacehaven Farm is a charitable organization focused on improving the lives of adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). It is building a unique residential community on an 89-acre farm just south of I-40/85 between Greensboro and Burlington.

e development will include a 22,000-square-foot community center that is under construction and expected to open in 2027. Plans call for eventually adding a medical clinic, classroom space, a working farm and housing for a diverse community of about 200 people. Construction on the rst home is likely to start by 2029, and folks moving in by 2030. Details on the size and cost of homes are not nalized. By design, about 40% of the population will consist of adults with I/DD of all descriptions. ey’ll be nestled amongst a bunch of folks of more common ability who choose to live in a beautiful rural setting and a community that embraces “being di erent together.”

“Normal people” living alongside I/DD? On purpose? Neal Sharpe, Peacehaven’s chief operating o cer, notes that Peacehaven’s basic proposition takes some getting used to.

“It does produce some odd expressions on people’s faces,” he says. “But, if you think about it, it’s not that di erent from the way the world operates now. ere are always neighbors who are di erent. Some of them may be adults with I/DD. e di erence here is that this is more intentional. We think this is a better way for everyone.”

It will certainly be better for the 80 or so I/DD adults who will live at Peacehaven. ey typically require life-living assistance, supervision, or even round-theclock care, and face myriad challenges. When they turn 22, they are no longer eligible to attend public schools.

▲

plan includes a hub for services, vocational training and food production.

at cut-o , known as “ e Cli ” in the I/DD world, eliminates an important source of social integration and daily structure. Most I/DD individuals are mainstreamed in public schools these days, attending classes and participating in activities with the general population. at has been the law since the federal individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed in 1975.

When those individuals go over “ e Cli ,” their world changes. Many withdraw into a tiny world populated by only their closest relatives. e result is not positive, says Peacehaven CEO Phelps Sprinkle, who is the father of Roxie, an I/DD child.

“Life becomes more di cult in so many ways,” he says.

“Mental health issues spike and then things o en spiral from there. It’s one of the biggest problems — maybe the biggest problem — that I/DD adults face.”

at is why Peacehaven exists.

“What we’re doing here,” says Sprinkle, “is solving for isolation.”

Peacehaven projected site plan

Peacehaven's site

Founder's vision

Peacehaven Farm is the result of the hopes and dreams of two couples: Buck and Cathy Cochran of Greensboro, and Tim and Susan Elliott. The couples met through their children, both ID/D kids at a Greensboro school specializing in such instruction.

Both families saw “The Cliff”approaching. As a response, Susan Elliott had a vision of a residence for I/DD adults in a peaceful rural setting. Through relentless prospecting in her trusty Volvo station wagon, she found a spot off N.C. 61 in eastern Guilford County: An 89-acre former farm that was for sale by a developer whose plans hadn’t worked out.

Cochran, a Baptist church minister, and his wife, a counselor, brought passion and expertise to the project. Tim Elliott provided the financial muscle. He had been a top executive in the West Virginia-based coal company owned by the late Chris Cline. A major gift from Cline, a billionaire who died in a plane crash in 2019, helped fund the land purchase and some initial operations.

Peacehaven opened a small group home for about a dozen individuals, based in an old farmhouse on the property, in 2014. It has added day services, including a small country store/ produce stand manned in part by I/DD staff, while developing plans for the residential community. A loyal community of supporters and donors is coalesced around the project’s inclusive ideals.

“We didn’t know what this would be, but it’s just become the best place,” says Buck Cochran.

A growing 'business'

A decidedly charitable vibe flows over the rolling hills at Peacehaven, even as construction carves roads through the red dirt fields and the community center takes shape. Everyone is exceedingly nice to their fellow humans.

Below the surface, however, a business mentality persists. Peacehaven’s non-profit designation “is nothing but a tax status. We have to think about how to best use our profits, just like any business,” Sharpe says. “The difference is that we won’t give (the profits) back to shareholders, or our officers.”

It’s growing into a much larger business. The construction project will cost $70 million, and the $3 million annual operating budget is expected to triple in the next few years, to more than $10 million. The payroll is also expected to increase to more than 100 when the homes are completed.

About $20 million of the construction budget has been raised so far. Those donating more than $1 million include the state of North Carolina, State Employees’ Credit Union, The Graham Foundation of Greenville, South Carolina, the Elliott family, and Trillium Health.

Greenville, North Carolina-based Trillium is one of three managed-care organizations that manage insurance reimbursements for serious mental health, substance use, traumatic brain injury and I/DD services. Trillium is supporting Peacehaven because of the expected savings from the reduction in mental health services for its residents and customers. Three other MCOs are also partners, but have not matched Trillium’s financial commitment.

▲ Buck Cochran

▲ Peacehaven expects to create a community that embraces 'being different.'

About 80% of Peacehaven's current revenue comes from donors, but that will change significantly through the residential expansion.

Medicaid payments, which Peacehaven was cautious in embracing, are expected to eventually make up about 50% of revenue. Fees for services, including rental income from the residences, and donations will make up the rest. The residential property may eventually be funnelled through a for-profit corporation under the Peacehaven umbrella.

“Ideally, Medicaid would not be the majority of our revenue,” says Cory Phillips, Peacehaven’s director of

advancement. “Many great organizations find themselves dependent on Medicaid, and when the political climate changes that can be a problem.”

Need far outstrips funds when it comes to government funding for I/DD support. A small percentage of families with I/DD adults qualify for Medicaid funding. The North Carolina Innovation Waiver allows families with an income of as much as $184,000 to receive Medicaid support. The waivers are based on acuity of need, but available funds determine how many waivers are granted. Consequently, nearly 18,000 are on the waiver waiting list. Just more than 14,000 receive the waivers, and the accompanying funds.

The application process is tedious. Peacehaven’s Sprinkle says there may be another 60,000 who could qualify but don’t want to enter a bureaucratic black hole.

Peacehaven will also realize income from renting event space, and from partnerships with local colleges. UNC

Greensboro, North Carolina A&T, Elon University and UNC Chapel Hill are onboard for some programs at the Peacehaven campus. One partner is expected to add a Disability Studies Minor, built around the Peacehaven program.

A handful of residential spaces might be reserved for students on a short-term basis, similar to a semester abroad.

Phillips says the idea is for fee-based revenue to be driven by a combination of utility and altruism. Beyond its beautiful setting, “we think there are plenty of people who’d love to know their wedding benefitted a ton of very deserving individuals.”

Dunbar's number

The number of residents will be capped at 200, though current zoning would allow for 1,000 or more. That limit is based on “Dunbar’s Number,” a figure devised by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggesting that meaningful community stopped above 150 people or so. Beyond that point, new tribes or groups form.

As noted, however, community needs outstrips available services.

About 4% of adults qualify as I/DD, with about 53,000 I/DD individuals within a 60-minute drive of Peacehaven. If the drive time is expanded to 90 minutes, which includes Charlotte and Raleigh, the number climbs to 200,000.

“Some say, ‘Well, why not build 500 or 1,000 spaces to serve all I/DD, the need is there,’” says Sprinkle. “But we don’t think that’s a model that really changes this world. That’s what we’re about, hopefully, is building that model.”

Peacehaven officials consider the initial development to be a model. They hope to expand to dozens of other sites across the state, with new communities falling under the Peacehaven umbrella. Or they hope other groups follow, inspired by the farm at Whitsett.

Peacehaven’s leaders are asking state leaders to consider the concept’s potential economic benefits, including savings on mental health care and driving worker productivity. Many families with I/DD adults work less than they otherwise might if they weren’t focused full time on caring for their adult child. Some caregivers also suffer from mental health problems, given the obvious pressures.

“We don’t know which way it will work out,” says Sprinkle. “We’d love to be able to do more communities on our own.

“That said, if someone else sees this and wants to do their own, we’re going to help them every way we can,” he says. “We want to get this right. There is so much need. This will change so many lives. I wake up every day ready to go to work because I don’t want to screw up for all our people out there.” ■

CELEBRATION STATION

North Carolina tourism is reporting record visitor spending. The industry keeps the party going, debuting destinations and organizing events, many celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday.

North Carolina tourism officials have lots to smile about. Visitor spending reached $36.7 billion in 2024, a 3% increase from the previous record of $35.6 billion a year earlier, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce. Seventy-one of the state’s 100 counties reported increased activity, including double-digit jumps in Ashe, Burke, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Stokes and Union counties.

“We were clearly thrilled with 2024’s visitor spending and proud of our role in promoting the North Carolina travel experience,” says Wit Tuttell, Visit North Carolina executive director. “The state’s appeal starts with scenic beauty, but it’s also due to culture, innovation and hospitable warmth. We can celebrate

all those strengths without a jawdropping record, which frankly might be hard to top.”

North Carolina was the fifth mostvisited state for domestic travel in 2024, according to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. (Data for 2025 hasn’t been released.)

“Among the satisfactions of promoting North Carolina tourism is the knowledge of how many of our travelers return,” Tuttell says. “We’re talking 86% of out-ofstate visitors. This is more than a point of pride. It’s also knowing that tourism is an engine that supports our state and local economies and saves residents money on their tax bills. I tend to see it as an unbeatable mix of business and pleasure.”

But those record numbers aren’t the only reasons to celebrate.

The destinations behind them are participating in the party being thrown this year for the country’s 250th birthday. “America 250 creates prime opportunities for exploring stories of places that are rich in character as well as historic significance,” Tuttell says.

“The Halifax Resolves, for instance, is a true ‘First in Freedom’ moment, and visiting the site during America 250 will heighten awareness of the courage it took to stand up to powerful forces.

On a lighter note, we might find more pleasure in a sip of Captain Jack Pilsner or a beer from Natty Greene’s by reflecting on their namesakes.”

Look for other North Carolina travel destinations, for both pleasure and business, throughout this section.

MOUNTAINS ARE RISING

Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina in September 2024. But recovery efforts launched from near and far have accomplished much, rebuilding roads, communities and industries, including tourism, across the region. “I’d say the mountains are going from recovery into growth,” Tuttell says. The region’s growth is fueling what Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority and its destination marketing organization, Explore Asheville, label “restorative journeys.” Visitors are seeing the region in a new light. “The Asheville area is back — full of that well-loved blend of entertainment, arts, food scene

BEST RESORTS IN NORTH CAROLINA FOR 2026

and outdoors that so many North Carolinians have come to savor,” says Vic Isley, Explore Asheville president and CEO. “Our creative community always has a way of unlocking your spirit and encouraging you to experience life at your own pace in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We invite folks to come see for themselves in 2026.”

New attractions are awaiting visitors. Lower Ghost Town, which caters to climbers, is near Chimney Rock State Park and is slated to open in April. Beacon Bike Park in Swannanoa is transforming the grounds of a former blanket factory, once the world’s largest, into walking trails, bike park and concert venue; it’s scheduled to open this spring. At the Asheville Art Museum, “In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870-1940” traces the movement’s evolution in the U.S through the work of more than 75 artists. It runs through June 29.

The 114-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Cherokee, almost half of the route’s North Carolina mileage, reopened in September, just in time for the region’s busiest tourism season.

Asheville Art Museum’s “In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870-1940” runs through June 29.

9. e Sanderling Duck

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort

Hilton Vacation Club Beachwoods

Hawk

1. e Ballantyne,

2. e Inn on Biltmore Estates

3. Old Edwards Inn & Spa

4. e Fearrington House Pittsboro

5. e Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa Asheville

6. e Swag Waynesville

7. Pinehurst Resort Pinehurst

8. Grandover Resort & Spa, a Wyndham Grand Hotel Greensboro

Top left, Biltmore Estates in Asheville remains one of the region’s top attractions. Left, a climber tackles Lower Ghost Town, near Chimney Rock State Park. Below left, the 114-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Cherokee, almost half of the route’s North Carolina mileage, reopened in September.

Visitors can follow it on their way to several America 250 destinations, including Oconaluftee Indian Village, which recreates life in the 1760s, when Europeans first settled on Cherokee land. If they head east to McDowell County, they’ll find the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, which traces the route militia took to the Battle of Kings Mountain, a decisive patriot victory that Thomas Jefferson said turned the tide of the American Revolution.

Tourism infuses nearly $3 billion to the Asheville region each year, according to Explore Asheville, and its No. 1 attraction is Biltmore.

The country’s largest private home welcomes about 1.4 million visitors annually. On select evenings through mid-October, many will enjoy “Luminere.” It will turn the grounds into an immersive outdoor art exhibit. Photos from the estate’s past and Vanderbilt family will be projected onto the house and other spots. Visitors can enjoy them during a self-guided tour while listening to a custom score written by Julian Grefe and performed by the Asheville Symphony.

The Biltmore name is attached to the PGA Tour’s upcoming tournament at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in nearby Arden. The mid-September Biltmore Championship, the start of a four-year run, is the tour’s first stop in Buncombe County in more than 80 years. Famed golfer Jack Nicklaus designed the course.

PIEDMONT IS SWINGING

The Moore County communities of Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen are the Home of American Golf. Their 19 courses were among the state’s top 100 last year. This year they’ll host major tournaments, including the men’s and women’s North & South Amateur Championships from June 28 to July 4. The men’s and women’s U.S. Opens will return to Pinehurst No. 2 in 2029, a repeat performance of 2014, the first and only other time the tournaments were staged on the same course in consecutive weeks.

Golfers and fans alike fuel tourism spending in the county, which was $860 million in 2024, according to Visit Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen. Tourism was the county’s second-largest employer with nearly 6,300 workers that year, and it saved $546.46 in taxes

per capita. It generated $28.1 million in local taxes and $32.2 million in state tax revenue.

Swing up to Greensboro, and Grandover Resort & Spa offers 36 holes of golf, spa, tennis courts, art gallery, live entertainment and outdoor pool.

Follow the North Carolina Civil Rights Trail through Guilford County, and visit sites connected with the movement, beginning with the F.W. Woolworth store in Greensboro, site of lunchcounter sit-ins in 1960. The trail also includes International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex in Fayetteville, Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, Earl Scruggs Center and Buffalo Creek Gallery in Shelby, High Point’s Blair Park Municipal Golf Course, Raleigh’s Village District and John Chavis Memorial Park, and

It all started more than a century ago, with the North & South Amateur — the first championship to be played in what has become renowned and revered as the Home of American Golf. Since then, many other professional and amateur tournaments have been held on the storied courses of the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area, including some of the golf world’s most prestigious events.

Durham’s Whistle Stop Tours and Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice.

The Michelin Guide recognizes nearly 50 restaurants across North Carolina. Some are Charlotte, which British General Cornwallis called a “hornet’s nest of resistance” in 1780.

Team in one of its final international friendlies ahead of the FIFA World Cup, underscoring Charlotte’s growing stature as a soccer city on the global stage.”

Today, the state’s most-populous city makes it easy to couple a top-notch meal with top-notch entertainment.

“Bank of America Stadium anchors a year of marquee moments, from the return of the ACC Football Championship to a lineup of toptier concerts, including Bruno Mars, Zach Bryan and Ed Sheeran,” says Shawn Flynn, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority director of corporate communications. “The stadium will also host the U.S. Men’s National Soccer

The lineup at nearby Spectrum Center includes Nine Inch Nails, Eric Church and RUSH alongside WWE Friday Night SmackDown. Truist Field hosts Charlotte Knights baseball games and the return of Banana Ball in early June, when the Firefighters will play the Texas Tailgaters. “The energy, the fans, the city — it’s the perfect place to keep growing Banana Ball to 1 billion fans,” Jesse Cole, founder of the touring Savannah Bananas traveling baseball games, says in a news release.

art, music, food and ideas across Uptown, while September welcomes the Charlotte International Arts Festival, which transforms the city through global and local artistic expression,” Flynn says.

CRVA’s 2025 Impact Report detailed the industry’s importance to the region. “Visitors delivered $6.4 billion in economic impact for Mecklenburg County and supported nearly 38,000 local jobs, fueled by stronger hotel performance, recordbreaking conventions and a worldclass calendar of events,” it said. Center early

“Culinary experiences remain a major driver of visitation in 2026, building on national recognition from the Michelin Guide, James Beard Award-honored chefs and Charlotte’s role as host city for Bravo’s “Top Chef Season 23.” Signature events, like Savor Charlotte, further spotlight the city’s food culture through chef-driven experiences and special menus.”

While NASCAR races its Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, NFL’s Panthers play through the fall and NBA’s Hornets play through winter, the Queen City offers plenty of non-sporting events year-round. “Spring brings Charlotte SHOUT!, a multiweek festival celebrating

HOME SWEET MEETINGS

OUT OF OFFICE, INTO THE EXTRAORDINARY

Delight in the comforts of home at The Graylyn Estate in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Nestled on 55 breathtaking acres, our 85-room boutique hotel has 15,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces. Inspire your group gathering with adventurous team-building and themed events guided by our expert coordination team.

Experience the timeless charm of The Graylyn Estate in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Set on 55 stunning acres, our boutique hotel features 85 guest rooms and offers 15,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces. Elevate your next gathering with team-building activities and themed events. Enjoy the feeling of home with unlimited ice cream and the personalized service of our butler team.

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THE HOME OF AMERICAN GOLF AND USGA’S WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME

Looking for a golf getaway with everything? Moore County’s a gimme. We have legendary courses, outdoor adventures, unique dining, cool craft breweries – and that’s just for starters. So plan your visit to the Home of American Golf. We guarantee: It’s Moore than you’re expecting!

COAST AWASH IN HISTORY

North Carolina’s coast stretches about 300 miles and includes beaches, quaint waterfront towns and fishing villages, wild horses and a memorial to the first successful heavier-than-air, controlled, powered human flight. All are sites of America 250 events.

Battlefields and structures from the American Revolution and Civil Wars are preserved throughout the region, including Fort Fisher State Historic Site in Kure Beach, Fort Macon State Park in Atlantic Beach, Moores Creek National Battlefield in Currie and Fort Caswell on Oak Island.

North Carolina was one of the 13 original colonies and the 12th state to ratify the Constitution. And none of its coastal destinations may be more tightly tied to America 250 than Halifax State Historic Site. It’s where Halifax Resolve Days: Prelude to Revolution will be held April 10 through 12. Visitors will

take part in an interactive recreation of events from April 12, 1776, when the Fourth Provincial Congress authorized delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence.

The Crystal Coast — from Harkers Island to Emerald Isle — has prepared a busy summer schedule for visitors. It includes the Beaufort Wine & Food Spring Festival in mid-April and Atlantic Beach Music Festival on May 16. “One of our bigger events is the Emerald Isle St. Patrick’s Day Festival, which usually has a big turnout,” says Steve Conklin, Crystal Coast N.C. information services and visitor center manager.

“And the International Dark Sky Week [stargazing from Harkers Island] is a pretty big staple as well.” Other well-known events include the Newport Pig Cookin’ Contest, in its 48th year, and Wooden Boat Show in Beaufort, celebrating its 50th year. ■

Cape Lookout National Seashore was certified as an International Dark Sky Park in December 2021 for “exceptional quality of the night skies of the park and the opportunities for astronomy-based experiences. Cape Lookout National Seashore is the first Atlantic coastal Dark Sky Place in the NPS to receive this certification,” according to the National Park Service.

Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.

VISIT SANFORD

Most business trips end when the meeting does. In Sanford, they’re just getting started. The Wicker Center offers meeting facilities with big city quality and small market pricing. Beyond the boardroom, experience championship golf, vibrant arts, exceptional dining, and genuine hospitality. It’s a business trip worth staying for—you’ll see.

Faye Stone | Facility Coordinator | dston766@cccc.edu 919-776-0345 | dawcc.com

EXPERIENCE IT ALL, IN ONE PLACE

EXPERIENCE IT ALL, IN ONE PLACE

Uncover the charm and history of Greensboro while enjoying a distinctive stay at one of North Carolina’s premier resorts. Featuring two challenging golf courses, day spa, tennis, an onsite art gallery, Finial Restaurant offering Southern-inspired fare, handcrafted cocktails at one of our bars, live entertainment, and a game room. The conference center features meeting rooms, unique ballrooms, and lovely outdoor venues.

Uncover the charm and history of Greensboro while enjoying a distinctive stay at one of North Carolina’s premier resorts. Featuring two challenging golf courses, The Spa at Grandover, tennis, Finial Restaurant, Southern Inspired Fare, handcrafted cocktails at one of our bars, live entertainment, a game room and an art gallery. The conference center features meeting rooms, unique ballrooms and lovely outdoor venues.

100 Club Road | Greensboro, NC 27407 336-294-1900 | grandoverresort.com

SWEET START

N.C. A&T State University’s soon to open Urban and Community Food Complex will encourage agribusiness and address social issues. It’s bringing back Aggie Ice Cream, too.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s working farm produced most of the food served on its campus, including the main ingredient for its popular Aggie Ice Cream, until the 1960s. That frozen treat is about to make a comeback, made once again in classic flavors, such as butter pecan and Neapolitan, alongside yet to be named ones reflecting school pride. It’ll happen at a creamery inside the school’s $12 million Urban and Community Food Complex, which will open its doors later this year.

The 15,000-square-foot complex will churn out more than ice cream. It will be a research center and business incubator, housing a food processing plant and four labs. Its food innovation lab, for example, will produce baked goods, fried foods, fermented products, roasted and smoked meats, seafood, poultry and vegetables, as well as canned and pickled products, juices, and dried fruits, vegetables and meats. “By facilitating food processing, preservation, innovation, sustainability and training, the UCFC will be a hub for local farmers, small growers and residents of local communities to use, enabling them to turn their ideas into reality,” says Hao Feng, the complex’s director and university’s Blue Cross Blue Shield Endowed Professor of Urban Food Systems.

Beyond spurring food and agribusiness entrepreneurship, the complex will give the university space to train small-scale producers on valueadded product development, food safety testing and business practices.

It’ll have an educational component for university students enrolled in a wide range of curriculums and majors, from food science, food safety and food engineering to biological engineering and animal science. Feng says there will be opportunities for students majoring in economics and marketing, too.

The complex is being built at the university’s working farm, a few miles southeast of its Greensboro campus. Students and faculty use it for research and education. It also produces crops and livestock, including the dairy cows that will support the renewed ice cream production. The university used $4.2 million of Title III education grant funds to purchase about 90 acres late last year, expanding the farm to nearly 581 acres.

The complex has been in the making for more than a decade. The university submitted proposals for 1890 grant

funding in 2014. Backed by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, that money supports agricultural research, extension and facility grants at land-grant institutions. Construction started in 2023. “We have a shiny new building, and we have exciting activities planned here,” Feng says. “We are looking forward to serving the Greensboro community soon.”

Feng says the complex’s future funding will come from university investment, outside grants and revenue generating commerce such as selling ice cream and supplying food for the campus catering

Located on the university’s 492-acre farm, this nearly 15,000-square-foot Urban and Community Food Complex brings together research, food innovation and business incubation with spaces including a sensory lab, post-harvest lab, food processing and safety labs, and a commercial kitchen.

program. “We’re the only HBCU with a facility like this,” he says. “It makes us unique, and it will become a dynamic part of our university.” Founded in 1891, it’s the country’s largest historically black college or university. Its 2025 fall semester enrollment was 15,275 students. A public doctoral research university, it’s known for its agriculture, mechanical arts and STEM programs.

The complex is expected to address community issues, too. The university’s farm and campus are in a food desert, where access to affordable, nutritious and fresh food is limited or non-existent.

In an interview at the complex’s groundbreaking, Radiah Minor, interim dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said the complex

will offer training and incubator space for community partners and small business entrepreneurs. Potential businesses include restaurants, farmers market shoppers and local grocery stores. “What we hope to have are community partners with food innovations who will be able to come into our unit and train,” she said.

Feng says the complex is expected to become a regional center of excellence among sustainable urban and community food systems. “We aim to drive the transformation of local agricultural practices and healthy outcomes through innovation, research, workforce development and inclusive economic advancement,” he says.

And the complex will play a starring role in the university’s Small Farm Week

held every March. It offers special educational sessions geared to small farmers. Feng is already receiving programming requests, icluding from an individual who is working on micrograin production and needs to scale up and a small sweetpotato farmer who wants to start a processing business.

Feng looks forward to the complex becoming a home for a program that helps companies develop and produce unique food products, like the Food Innovation Lab in Kannapolis. “We have a business plan that details how to utilize the facility to its highest purpose,” Feng says. “There is a lot of potential here.”

Teri Saylor is a freelance writer in Raleigh.

Hao Feng, Blue Cross Blue Shield Endowed Professor of Urban Food Systems and professor of food and bioprocess engineering, was named a 2024 IFT Fellow by the Institute of Food Technologists.

GOOD EATS

Farm to School program puts North Carolina grown produce in school meals. It’s a lesson in academic success, proper nutrition and local economics.

As a polar blast blew into North Carolina in late January, Wilson County farmer James Sharp did what he could to ensure his crop of tender strawberry plants survived, including using frost blankets inside his greenhouses. “We’re definitely concerned with this cold weather that we could get some internal damage on the plants,” he said a few days before temperatures dropped below freezing, coating central North Carolina in ice. “Hopefully their blankets will counteract some of that.”

Sharp owns and operates Fresh-Pik Produce in Kenly and Deans Farm Market in Wilson. The latter is a popular destination for tourists and locals. They can purchase produce directly from the farm and pick as many ripe strawberries as they can eat. He also helps lead N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Farm to School program, which provides fresh produce to participating school systems — almost 80 of the state’s 125 last year. When his strawberries ripen this spring, they will be more than just a tasty treat for students. They will be an important component of a nutritious meal.

James Sharp, owns Deans Farm Market in Wilson and Fresh-Pik Produce in Kenly and heads up a co-op that supplies fresh food to schools.

N.C. Department of Public Instruction reports that $666.5 million in school meal costs are funded with federal and state appropriations and payments from students on meal plans. North Carolina schools received $5.6 million in federal funds earmarked for local food purchases in 2022 through the USDA’s Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program.

Those funds were continued through 2024, and the state was set to receive an additional $18.9 million over the following three years. However, USDA cut $660 million from Farm to School budgets nationwide in March 2025. The loss tightens each school’s foodservices budget, forcing them to rely more on less expensive bulk suppliers and processed food while still meeting federal nutrition standards.

Some future funding was made available through the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program, which supports local food procurement and agricultural education with grants typically ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. Farm to School program supporters asked the General Assembly to prioritize funding to help keep fresh local food in public schools, and House budget bill for 2025-2026 included $5 million for that. The Senate budget bill lacks that funding, and to date, the state has not passed a comprehensive budget for the current fiscal year. But the program carries on, funded through

each school’s regular budget.

On a breezy day last January, the Agriculture Department’s Administrative and Butner Warehouse Offices was buzzing with activity. Workers loaded sweetpotatoes, apples, brown rice,

North Carolina’s Farm to School program launched in 1997, when N.C. Department of Public Instruction officials determined that sourcing fruits and vegetables grown in the state would enhance student meals. North Carolina schools served more than 200 million breakfasts and lunches during the 2023-2024 school year, according to School Nutrition Association of North Carolina.

Johnson Family Produce and General Store

frozen berries and frozen beef products into large trucks destined for school systems.

The food follows a couple routes to schools. Some of it is delivered directly to individual schools. And some goes to commercial distributors, who in turn distribute it to schools. “Take Wake County for example,” says Walter Beal, the Agriculture Department’s food distribution division director.

“With over 200 schools in the system, it’s beyond our capability to deliver to that many locations, so we deliver to a warehouse.” In addition to the USDA’s other main distribution center in Salisbury, regional food hubs are scattered across the state.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Farm to School distribution warehouses fresh produce and delivers it to participating school districts.

School systems rely on their nutrition directors to plan menus, forge relationships with vendors, manage budgets and ensure students receive meals that meet USDA nutrition standards. Tammy Rinehart is N.C. School Nutrition Association president and Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools nutrition director, overseeing the district’s lunch, breakfast, snack and supper programs. She says the Farm to School program is invaluable. “The food quality is so much better for our students, and we rely heavily on our farm-to-school partners, the Department of Agriculture, and local farmers in the Pasquotank and northeastern North Carolina region,” she says.

More than 80% of Elizabeth CityPasquotank Public Schools’ 5,000 students eat meals at school, all free through the federal Community Eligibility Provision program because of the large number of low-income families who live in the district. The school system employs about 60 cooks. They use recipes that adhere to USDA nutritional guidelines and work hard to make food tasty and appealing. Some of their dishes have won USDA awards, including for scratchmade items such as pico de gallo, kale with garlic and parmesan, and local collard greens. “Our food is so good, I can’t think of a meal I like best,” says Rinehart, who eats with the students at least four times a week.

In addition to feeding students nutritious meals, the Farm to School program is a boon for North Carolina Farmers. “It’s another outlet to sell our products,” Sharp says. “And when we can get those additional sales back to the farm, we can continue to diversify our produce for the schools and our other customers.”

Sharp leads the North Carolina Farm to Schools Cooperative, which was incorporated in 2008 to pool the resources of about 25 of the state’s large producers to serve school nutrition needs, promote the program and pay for educational materials. It submits bids on providing produce to schools twice a year. Participating farms must meet stringent requirements and be certified for good agricultural practices.

Beal has been with the Farm to School program for 14 years. He says it supplies about 20% of what it takes to feed the

state’s students. “The school systems purchase 80% of the food they need from other sources, and they’re very good at it,” he says. Small farms can sell directly to local school systems. Rinehart’s district often buys from local producers.

Agriculture is North Carolina’s largest industry. Its annual economic impact is more than $100 billion. And while the Farm to School program is a fraction of that, Beal says it provides returns beyond financial. “I love knowing that students are eating fresh local food and learning where it comes from,” he says.

Rinehart, who has spent 30 years as a school nutritionist, loves her job, too. “The children in this community are my children,” she says. “Seeing the impact good nutrition can have on them and knowing we are making a difference is so rewarding.” Studies show that kids learn best when they are well fed. “Attendance and temperament problems in the classroom are often related to hunger,” she says. “You can’t learn if your belly’s growling.”

eri Saylor is a freelance writer in Raleigh.

Tractor trailers are rolling advertisements for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services when they deliver fresh food to school districts through the state’s Farm to School program.

It takes a team to move fresh produce through the state’s Food to School program, from Walter Beal, director of food distribution, below, to Tammy Rinehart, nutrition director at Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools.

PEOPLE FIRST

Last spring, Rowan County Board of Commissioners declared May 11 through 17 as Economic Development Week. The local celebration of a national event promoted a range of efforts, from business recruitment, retention and expansion to enhancing the quality of life for all residents.

“A lot of people don’t understand what an economic development organization does, and we want to be transparent about what we do,” says Rod Crider, Rowan Economic Development Council president and CEO. “It’s important to communities that are growing fast, where people wonder what’s going on with all the growth, and with others that aren’t growing, and they wonder why they aren’t. We’re just trying to highlight our work.” They didn’t have to wait long for examples.

A month after Economic Development Week, tech company Jabil announced a $500 million capital investment at a former Gildan textile mill in Granite Industrial Park, between Granite Quarry and Salisbury. The Fortune 500 company’s factory will support cloud and artificial intelligence data center infrastructure customers. It is expected to

Rowan County entities are collaborating to attract and grow businesses. Education, training and quality of life efforts aim to ensure a capable, plentiful workforce.

create about 1,200 full-time jobs during the next five years.

“They tell us they’re the largest company nobody’s ever heard of,” Crider says. (St. Petersburg, Florida-based Jabil had a market cap of $28 billion in mid-February.) “They’re completely renovating the space. There will be a lot of technology involved in their operations. And we can pull a large workforce. Something like 1.4 million people live within a 45-minute drive time, and you can’t get that from any other region. That’s often cited by consultants for companies about why they’re looking to come here, what a robust labor force we have.”

In December, Complete Well-Care Source, a Salisbury-based mental and behavioral health service, announced an expansion with plans to add 501 jobs in five years as it invests $14.5 million to construct a 30,000-square-foot treatment facility and corporate headquarters. The building will open in 2027.

Rowan EDC targets specific industries, including advanced manufacturing, office technology, and distribution and logistics. It also pursues agribusiness; there are 440 farms covering almost 48,000 acres in the county. Landing businesses active in any of them requires a range of offerings provided

by different entities. They start with incentives and infrastructure and include a workforce that’s educated, skilled and enjoying a high quality of life. About 155,000 people live in the county, about 30,000 more than in 2000, according to Census Bureau estimates.

CREATING COMMUNITY

Rowan County’s 10 municipalities are a mix of rural and urban. A stretch of its eastern boundary follows the Yadkin River channel through High Rock Lake. Big-city amenities are a short drive away — north or south. “We can be at a major sports event in Charlotte in 45 minutes, but we don’t have some of the other issues that other places have,” Crider says. “We don’t have traffic jams. I guess what we would say is you can choose the pace of your lifestyle here. It’s a lot easier to commute and get around. We have a lot of outdoor space. We’re very scenic to live in.”

Salisbury, Rowan County’s seat, is home to beverage-maker Cheerwine and grocer Food Lion. It also has a reputation for historic preservation. Many of its homes and buildings date to the 19th century and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Downtown Salisbury Inc. facilitates and promotes growth within the city’s central business district, ensuring it remains the county’s economic, governmental, social and cultural center. Remodeling at the Empire Hotel, which opened in 1859, is a prime example. “This initiative is poised to enhance our economic landscape, fostering collaboration with the city and invigorating our community,” DSI Board President Tonyan Schofield said in a news release.

Rod Crider

Salisbury celebrates its hometown beverage, Cheerwine, with a festival in May.

“The Empire Hotel, along with our upcoming streetscape project, represents a commitment to revitalizing our downtown area, ensuring it remains a vibrant hub for residents and visitors alike.”

Part of the Main Street America program, DSI’s Main Street Project has added a social district and residential units through building renovations. The project’s first phase was completed in 2021, and its second phase is addressing an adjacent six-block stretch along U.S. 29.

Big things are happening in Rowan’s smallest communities, too. Cleveland, with a population of about 1,000 people, is home of Daimler Trucks North America’s largest Freightliner Trucks factory. Faith’s 800 residents are known for throwing one of the state’s largest July 4 celebrations. And Gold Hill, once home to the Southeast’s best known and most profitable gold mines, offers a 70-acre historic park, wine tours and antique stores.

STRENGTHENING EDUCATION

The Rowan-Salisbury School System is the state’s only Renewal School System. Students aren’t restricted to one-size-fitsall curriculums and test scores. Instead, they’re educated through personalized learning experiences with teacher-led flexibility in course structure. English, math, science and social studies are taught alongside interpersonal skills, allowing students to develop their unique intellects and career goals. “We have the thirdlargest number of certifications earned by students in the state of North Carolina behind Mecklenburg County and Wake, so per capita we are punching way above our weight in helping students find a job and new skills,” Crider says.

Rowan Education Collaborative is a community undertaking to increase educational attainment and job opportunities. It includes Rowan County commissioners, Rowan EDC, county schools, Catawba College, Livingstone College and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. “We meet every month to talk about how we can work together with the talent pipeline and workforce development, and we’re the only county in the state that does that on a regular basis,” Crider says. “We are branding ourselves

as a learning community. Learning is a lifelong endeavor. You can’t just get a four-year degree and ride that out the rest of your career. You have to continue to learn new skills, and we need to be prepared for that type of environment.”

RCCC’s open-door admissions policy means accessibility and opportunity for anyone wanting to obtain workforce readiness, including for the 700 jobs at athletic sportswear company Momentec Brands’ Customer Success Center that’s opening in Kannapolis and retailer Macy’s e-commerce fulfillment center in China Grove, which opened last fall.

Crider says Macy’s footprint goes beyond the two-story building that’s the size of 44 football fields. “Thirty percent of their corporate volume will flow through this facility,” he says. “They will hire about 1,200 total, and they have about 700 right now. They’ve come into the community and formed partnerships with nonprofits, and the town of China Grove has seen a significant impact with their engagement here. It’s not just the investment and the jobs. They’re part of the community — everything from sending out their leadership team to clean the Little League fields to providing clothing for underprivileged kids to go to prom. Any time there’s a need, they are willing to help in some way.”

RCCC is building partnerships with Momentec and Macy’s, says Interim Director of Governance and Community Relations Dusty Saine. “Macy’s does plan to add specialized equipment in our Carol S. Spalding Advanced Technology Center, which will allow us to support employee training and future workforce development efforts,” he says.

RCCC has two buildings at the 350acre North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, where eight participating universities and David H. Murdock Research Institute study crops, healthier foods and precision nutrition. “[It] is another asset to help us build out our life sciences industry in the Charlotte region,” Crider says. “We’re particularly interested in how it’s helping with our promoting value-added manufacturing facilities to locate in our community. Having that is a feather in our cap to product development and product testing. We hope to see that continue to grow.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Three Rivers Land Trust has worked with landowners to conserve natural areas, family farms and historic places in the Piedmont and Sandhills since 1995, including across Rowan County. “They work to preserve the land and make sure it will continue to be used for agricultural purposes,” Crider says. Main crops in Rowan include soybeans, corn and wheat. The Piedmont Research Station near Salisbury, operated by NC State University and N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, works with dairy, poultry, and field and horticultural crop farmers and holds community training and workshops. Forward Rowan 2 is the county’s latest five-year strategic plan. It aims to build prosperity and improve quality of life. Its goals include attracting 3,000 jobs in advanced manufacturing, logistics and distribution, life sciences, professional services and data centers; securing $500 million in capital investments; and adding 1 million square feet of spec space. “Most of that [spec space] will be along the I-85 corridor,” Crider says. “We feel our agriculture and open spaces will attract people, so we do our best to control growth, so it doesn’t get out of hand. Preserving agricultural land is very important to us. Finding that balance is what we’re interested in doing.” ■

Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.

FAST TRACKING OPPORTUNITIES

Things move fast in Cabarrus County. Its county seat, Concord, joins Harrisburg and Kannapolis among the Charlotte region’s fastest-growing cities. Concord is home to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where NASCARsanctioned races have tested drivers and machines since 1960. Richard Petty Driving Experience, which lets paying thrill-seekers drive a real race car, is in Harrisburg, and Kannapolis is the country’s eighth fastest-growing economy, according to the city’s website.

Efforts to support entrepreneurship and businesses are accelerating in Cabarrus County. “Each is intentionally supported by the work we do every day,” says Gretchen Carson, who was named Cabarrus Economic Development Corp. president and CEO in January after serving as director of business recruitment at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. For example, the Cabarrus Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, powered by Flywheel, helps entrepreneurs turn ideas into sustainable businesses.

Carson says support for existing businesses is critical. “Our business retention and expansion efforts proactively help in identifying issues and

help existing businesses expand,” she says. One of those is athletic sportswear company Momentec Brands, which announced a 756,000-square-foot Customer Success Center in Kannapolis in November. It will be North America’s largest center dedicated to custom decorating and serving the needs of sports teams and businesses. It’s expected to be fully operational this year and employ about 700 people.

Grow Cabarrus is a program that helps existing businesses.

“Launched by the Cabarrus EDC in partnership with the National Center for Economic Gardening, [it] focuses on growing Stage 2 companies that are already here and are ready to grow,” Carson says. “By prioritizing business development for advanced manufacturing and industrial development in key areas, Cabarrus County is diversifying its economic base and supporting the creation of highquality jobs.”

Carson says the EDC’s work supports residents, too. “[It]will continue targeted recruitment efforts in sectors aligned with Cabarrus County’s economic priorities, focusing on companies that provide high-quality jobs, offer career advancement opportunities and make

capital investments that generate revenue to help balance property taxes within the community,” she says.

ACCELERATING EDUCATION

It’s been almost two decades since the North Carolina Research Campus was planted at the former Cannon Mills site in Kannapolis. Eight universities, along with the David H. Murdock Research Institute, have centers there, each with a specialized study in crops, foods and precision nutrition. “Life sciences continues to be a key and growing industry in Cabarrus County, supported by innovative companies such as Lilly and the N.C. Research Campus, a talented workforce and strong regional partnerships fueling job creation, economic diversification and long-term economic growth,” Carson says.

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has two buildings at North Carolina Research Campus. There, it offers hands-on training for its health, science and engineering programs. “The new BioWork certificate program at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College equips students with the foundational skills needed to launch careers as

Cabarrus County’s history is steeped in motorsports. Now it’s winning at economic development, too.

Student TRACK introduces students to career possibilities within Cabarrus County.

process technicians in biotechnology, pharmaceutical or chemical manufacturing companies,” Carson says.

Carson wants to prepare the county’s workforce for future opportunities.

“Over the next five years, there will be a strong emphasis on supporting existing industries, particularly those, such as manufacturing, that create greater opportunity through career laddering,” she says. “These pathways enable employees to develop and enhance their skills, increasing their long-term value in the workforce. The EDC will focus on implementing programs that support these businesses and help them grow and thrive in Cabarrus County.”

Rowan EDC connects students with local industries through its Student Talent Readiness and Career Knowledge program. Student TRACK had 22 graduates last year. “It helps them explore industries and shows them the skills they’ll need to succeed,” Carson says. “Whether their path leads to a four-year degree, two-year associate degree, or certification through career and technical education programs at their high school or RCCC, Student

TRACK guides them in building a plan for the future.”

CELEBRATING LIFE

People choose Cabarrus County for more than the availability of good jobs. It’s a good place to live, too. “Cabarrus County offers a high quality of life with diverse housing options, safe neighborhoods, family-friendly communities, and a wide range of cultural and recreational options in the local community and around the region,” Carson says. “There’s a strong sense of belonging here.”

Kannapolis has 60,521 residents and addresses in Rowan and Cabarrus counties. The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, the single-A Chicago White Sox affiliate, plays at Atrium Health Ballpark on the Cabarrus side. “They are expected to release a college series in the next couple of weeks that fans will be excited about,” says Annette Privette Keller, the city’s communications director. “We expect 200 Main, our newest downtown apartments, to open this year. Stadium Lofts, the apartment complex

overlooking the ballpark, opened in 2025 and is nearing capacity.”

Culture also is part of a downtown Kannapolis revitalization project that has added a Social District. “For us, we were excited to have the Gem and Swanee Theatres fully operational in 2025 after renovations,” Keller says. “We had over 140,000 tickets sold at the Gem Theatre, which is a first-run movie theatre that was opened in the 1930s. The Swanee is a live music venue. We also welcomed the Salisbury Symphony for the first time to our city.”

Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.

KUWOHI OBSERVATION TOWER

As winter’s veil thaws and spring re-awakens in the Great Smokies, one of the most iconic destinations in the Southeast ushers in the peak tourism season for North Carolina’s westernmost region, from Cherokee to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. On April 1, the scenic roadway leading to Swain County’s crown jewel, the Kuwohi Observation Tower, formerly Clingmans Dome, officially reopens. It is the highest public vantage point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In 2024, Clingmans Dome was renamed Kuwohi by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. Kuwohi means “mulberry place” in Cherokee, restoring its original Indigenous name in honor of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the mountain’s cultural significance.

Described as a blend of natural beauty, architectural heritage and historical significance, the tower crowns the 6,643-foot summit and offers panoramic views of the mountains and valleys. It’s more than just a pretty view. Steel, concrete and visitor terraces are prime examples of Mission 66, a project aimed to upgrade National Park Service facilities by giving priority to visitor experience and modern design, versus the traditional rustic park aesthetics. Built in 1959, Kuwohi is the prototype of nine towers built under the

project. From the summit parking lot, a steep half-mile paved trail connects visitors to the observation tower’s modern mushroom-cap design.

To protect visitors from icy conditions, the road leading to Kuwohi is closed December through March, making the observation tower accessible only by hiking or biking from other trails. Once reopened, the seven-mile scenic drive transforms into a vital route of spring and early summer tourism traffic, that boost the local economy in Swain and neighboring counties.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has ranked as the most visited U.S. national park for more than 80 years. With more than 12 million annual visitors, spring visitation is the fastestgrowing. For local businesses — from restaurants and lodging to adventure guides and tour operators the April return is the ‘Welcome Mat’ to a critical revenue season.

This year, Kuwhoi’s economic impact is expected to expand under strategic partnerships and enhanced visitor experiences, making the tower a brand ambassador for outdoor tourism in western North Carolina. ■

Lori D. R. Wiggins

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