Nod to the Past, Eye on the Future
Watching the city as it grows, Dull acknowledges that his company is changing the landscape of Wilmington. He takes a decidedly proactive role, however. “Decisions will be made. You can either sit on the sidelines and watch them happen or you can be part of the solution,” he says. He spent six years on the New Hanover County Planning Board (serving as chairman for two years) and has served on the City of Wilmington Planning Commission since 2005, chairing that commission since 2007. He maintains positions in many other civic, professional and religious organizations, including the Cape Fear Rotary Club, of which he has been a member since 1989. “I’ve got core commitments—to my family, to my church, and to my business,” Dull notes. “And, I believe you should be civic-minded and do things to help others.” Preserving Wilmington’s classic culture is important to Dull, even as he is part of the change that the Port City is undergoing. The key, he says, is good planning. “The only thing constant is change. If you’re conscious about what you’re doing then you can have good growth.” With Wilmington, we don’t want to create a museum, he remarked, we want to create a vibrant community. “If your objective is to stop growth and make things frozen in time—if the city fathers believed that 100 years ago, where would we be now? You always have to have positive transition. There’s a place for the historic foundation, and there’s a place for the guy that wants to build the new waterfront marina. They should complement each other. I believe that preservation and growth can be friends.” “I think a lot of times people think that because you’re in the building business that you’re anti-environment or anti-preservation, but it’s really the opposite. We’re the people that have the most impact on getting things done right. That’s my goal: to do the things I can in this community not just with my business, but with helping people and doing things for the city that would make this a better place.” W
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