Greenville ENC Alliance FY24-28 Strategic Plan Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN

Fiscal Years 2024 - 2028

A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

ON THE 2024-28 STRATEGIC PLAN

Just recently, I hit the 150-day milestone as the president and CEO of the Greenville ENC Alliance. For brevity’ssake,Iwillonlystatethatithasbeenanenjoyablewhirlwindoflearningandrelationshipbuilding Undertakingastrategicplanninginitiativerightoutofthegateexpeditedmylearningcurveandservedas avehicletoconnectwithsomanygreatfolkswithintheGreenville–PittCountycommunity.

It was with great intention that we utilized this planning process to unite organizations and governments around a central set of priorities. While we have not identified each and every individual task or desired outcome,wehavedesignedafairlydetailedroadmapforhowwecanworktogethertoreachourintended destinations.Forpathwaysthataremaintainedbypartnerorganizations,itistheGreenvilleENCAlliance’s commitment to support them in accomplishing these critical missions For the goals that do not have a clearpath,weintendtoleadtheeffortofplottinganewcourse.

Duringourengagementwithcommunitystakeholders,twoitemsbecameclear.Thefirstbeingthefervent passion and aspirations that our citizens have for Greenville, Pitt County, and eastern North Carolina. There are not many places like this where there is such an emotional connectivity to a geography. Our teamplanstoleveragethispassioninpromotingourarea.

The second item that came into focus was the desire for the Greenville ENC Alliance to become an impactful organization and a unifying force that earns the trust of its partners Economic development is the ultimate team sport and success can’t be achieved unless every partner thrives in their unique roles while collectively working toward a win. As a public-private partnership, the Greenville ENC Alliance was created with the purpose to serve as the primary marketing and industry attraction arm and to lead collaboration between the government and private sectors We intend to excel at these responsibilities andbeachampionforeconomicdevelopmentinthemetro.

Thisprocesswouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthecountlesshoursofworkputinbyourstrategicplan steeringcommittee,PittCountyofficials,CityofGreenvillerepresentatives,andmanyothers Agreatdeal ofgratitudeisalsoowedtoleadconsultantDr.SeanBrazierandhistalentedteamatEDai.Thankyouall.

Sincerely,

Josh Lewis, CEcD PresidentandCEO,GreenvilleENCAlliance

ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION

Asapublic-privatepartnership,theGreenvilleEasternNorthCarolina(ENC)Allianceworkstostrengtheneconomic progress by bringing new capital investment and new well-paying jobs to our community. Through engaging with the public and private sectors, the 501(c)3 organization sells Pitt County to domestic and international markets to attractnewindustrywhileretainingandexpandingexistingindustry.TheGreenvilleENCAlliance,foundedin2019, strives to strengthen the region’s competitive position, facilitate investments that build capacity, generate prosperity,enhanceeconomicvitality,andsupportthedevelopmentofaqualifiedandcapableworkforce.

BY THE NUMBERS

SINCE JULY 1, 2020

$692,500,000

1,847 made in new capital investment

new jobs created

86 public government and private sector investors

232 earned media placements

4,443 combined follows on social media platforms

1,727 site selection consultants in marketing database

PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE

64 PROJECTS WORKED SINCE JULY 1, 2020

BREAKDOWN BY STAGE:

17 projects won

12 projects lost

21 projects disengaged

5 projects visited

5 responses submitted

4 projects on hold

STRATEGIC PLAN PROCESS

THE ALLIANCE OUTLINED FOUR KEY OBJECTIVES FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Identify shared economic development goals for the metro

Develop the strategies and tactics needed to achieve those goals

Secure alignment on who should do what, when, over what time period, and with what resources Align on the metrics that we should track to ensure success

STRATEGIC PLAN INPUT AND ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

Gather input and perspectives

75+ respondents to survey

25+ stakeholder interviews

Partner strategic plan reviews

Historical trends analysis

Analyze against peers

Analyzed metro against 15+ peer communities

Reviewed current and potential target sectors

Identified emerging strategies

STRATEGIC PLAN LEADERSHIP

Steering Committee

Janis Gallagher PittCountyGovernment

Dr Angela Lamson EastCarolinaUniversity

Tom Kulikowski Chair,GreenvilleENCAlliance

Dr. Lawrence Rouse PittCommunityCollege

Refine findings and share for feedback

Shared findings and research to date with stakeholders for feedback

Refined strategies and identified best practices with select case studies and examples

Developed implementation plans and resource estimates

Kelly Andrews PittCo EconomicDevelopment

Dr. Ethan Lenker PittCountySchools

Aaron Driver Secretary,GreenvilleENCAlliance IICCarolinas

Spence Cosby CommunityMember

Don Edwards UniversityBookExchange

Ann Wall CityofGreenville

Drake Brinkley ViceChair,GreenvilleENCAlliance WardandSmith,PA

Michael Overton The Overton Group

Finalize plan

Integrated feedback into the final plan

Syndicated recommendations with key partners

Jon Anderson Treasurer, Greenville ENC Alliance Truist

Mayor Steve Tripp TownofAyden

Tony Cannon GreenvilleUtilitiesCommission

TJ Sawyer Sawyer'sFunPark

We've gathered input and perspectives from more than 70 stakeholders, including:

Bishop Rosie O'neal KoinoniaChristianCenterChurch

Lance Clark

BillClarkHomes-Greenville

Greg Steele

TowneBankofGreenville

Vann Rogerson NCEastAlliance

Chancellor Philip Rogers EastCarolinaUniversity

Dr Michael Waldrum

ECUBrodySchoolofMedicine ECUHealth

Rep. Gloristine Brown NorthCarolinaStateDistrict8

FormerMayor,TownofBethel

Mayor P J Connelly CityofGreenville

Mayor Pro Tem Rose Glover CityofGreenville

Chairwoman Mary Perkins-Williams PittCounty

Vice Chair Christopher Nunnally PittCounty

VISION

The Greenville ENC Alliance’s strategic plan for FY24-28 outlines a path for Greenville - Pitt County to both deepen its role as the gem of eastern North Carolina and stake a claim as a leading metro area on the East Coast. We have the higher education assets, leading companies, visionary leaders, and can-do attitude to achieve this vision. However, staking out a niche and building this brand recognition beyond our state will take strategy, focus, coordinated action, and resourcing. This strategic plan provides the roadmap to get there. The development process engaged the people who can lead us down this path Now, we need the collective effort and determination to get there over the next ten years

STAKEHOLDER INPUT

Between January and March 2023, we engaged with more than 100 stakeholders through a mix of 1:1 interviews, surveys, a stakeholder breakfast, and a series of steering committee meetings to guide the plan’s development.

PLAN HIGHLIGHTS

What has emerged from this process is a more refined vision for the Alliance to serve as a quarterback within our community’s economic development ecosystem with a mission to attract new businesses and support existing ones to maximize opportunities for investment, job creation, and economic growth.

To be this catalyst for growth, we will focus primarily on business development, marketing and promotion of the metro, and development of industrial product We will play convening and/or supporting roles for other critical areas for growth including policy advocacy, entrepreneurship, talent development and retention, and quality of life/placemaking efforts

IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION

Our plan sets the bar high for where we want to be in ten years, which is in the top quartile for job growth amongst a set of 11 peer communities To get there, we will need to (1) invest heavily to expand our portfolio of project-ready industrial sites and buildings; (2) double-down on our marketing and promotion efforts to raise awareness of our community’s strengths; and (3) enhance our business development efforts to engage more prospects, more deeply, while leveraging our partners more efficiently

We know we cannot undertake this effort alone. For us to be successful and impactful, we need to be in lockstep with our key economic development partners at the state, regional, county, and municipal levels. We are grateful to have so many of these partners involved in the development of the strategic plan. Our organization is committed to continuing these great partnerships that will be critical to achieving our goals

The Alliance can play a quarterback role in its top priority areas and pursue targeted opportunities to impact other areas critical for growth by serving as a convener, catalyst, or supporter:

GOALS AND PRIORITIES

STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS

Five key goals were identified to guide the Alliance's efforts to drive impact in the metro and beyond:

PROSPERITY

PARTNERSHIP PROMOTION INNOVATIVE EDO

LONG-TERM VISION

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

Position Greenville - Pitt County to be in the top quartile for job growth amongst its peers over the next 10 years

Earn the trust and confidence of our economic development partners in the metro, region, and state

Establish the metro as a premier MSA for industrial projects, recognized by industry leaders, influencers, and insiders

Execute targeted strategies in “next generation” opportunities to establish and promote the Alliance as a national leader

Serve as the guiding force on ED priorities for the metro, including enablers that support and unlock economic growth

We developed 14 strategies to achieve our goals for the metro and the Alliance:

Strategic Objectives Strategies

IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS

HIGHLIGHTS OF IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

This plan will ensure success and progress against our goals each year

Year One

Catalyzejobgrowthand capitalinvestment

Market,promote,and advocateforthemetro

Advancedevelopment ofindustrialproduct

Enhancecoordinationand connectionsintheeconomic developmentecosystem

Championinvestmentsin thebuildingblocksfor economicgrowth

Enhance BD routines with partners Lay groundwork for Anchor Manufacturer Supply Chain effort

Kick off marketing and promotion strategy development

Develop and execute against research and benchmarking calendar

Launch site prioritization study in coordination with partners Develop development roadmap, including funding needs

Stand up select task forces to institutionalize efforts

Establish partnerships with "next gen" sector leaders

Talent: Continue supporting existing initiatives and consider supporting partners with targeted resources (eg, marketing)

Year Two

Stand up ongoing value-added programming for existing companies

Engage partners to identify ways to support "next gen" industries

Launch targeted prospect-attraction campaigns

Establish policy advocacy council strategy and routines

Continue executing against sites strategy and action plans Lay foundation for an industrial building strategy

Identify opportunities to leverage Alliance efforts (eg, marketing, research) to benefit partners

Entrepreneurship: Refine and execute Alliance-specific piece within Intersect East strategy

Years Three, Four, Five

Continue targeted sector BD efforts Execute against partnership opportunities in "next gen" industries

Continue executing marketing strategy

Adapt content to support "enabler" initiatives and efforts

Continue developing and coordinating in line with site plans Stand up and execute against industrial building strategy

Continue quarterback and coordinator roles within ecosystem

Work with community partners to identify opportunities for the Alliance to support enabler efforts

If we do these activities well...

... we'll see improvements in these output measures...

... and, ultimately, increases in these community outcomes

PEER FINDINGS

CURRENT AND ASPIRATIONAL PEERS

To identify job growth targets, we compared Greenville Metro against 11 current and 6 aspirational peers

Map

Peer List

Current peers

Asheville, NC Metro area

Athens-Clarke County, GA Metro area

Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro area

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro area

Blacksburg-Christiansburg, VA Metro area

Burlington, NC Metro area

Fayetteville, NC Metro area

Harrisonburg, VA Metro area

Johnson City, TN Metro area

Lynchburg, VA Metro area

Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro area

Aspirational peers

Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR Metro area*

Greensboro-High Point, NC Metro area

Greenville-Anderson, SC Metro area

Myrtle Beach, SC-NC Metro area

Spartanburg, SC Metro area

Tulsa, OK Metro area*

Methodology: Quantitative analysis identified communities with similar socioeconomic and industry makeups; qualitative perspectives from web searches and stakeholder feedback

HISTORICAL AND

PROJECTED

GROWTH RATES

* Not shown on map

Our metro outpaced current peers’ historical average growth rates but trailed aspirational peers. Over the next 10 years, we’re expected to trail both groups

Historical (2011-2021)

Annual growth rates

Projected (2021-2031)

Annual growth rates

JOB CREATION TO BOOST OUR GROWTH RATE

To close our growth gap with the top quartile of our fastest growing peers, we will need to create an additional 4,775-6,647 net new jobs

Greenville MSA historical and projected employment levels at different growth rates

Jobs, 2011-2031

Source: Lightcast

JOB CREATION TARGETS IN TERMS OF PROJECT WINS

A consistent string of economic development project wins in target industries can help close this gap

Net new job creation over the next 10 years

TARGET INDUSTRIES

INDUSTRY SECTOR JOB AND PAYROLL MIX

Diversifying and growing the Greenville MSA industrial mix will bring additional wealth and opportunities to the community

Greenville MSA employment and earnings by industry, 2021

Share of total

TARGET INDUSTRY SECTORS

We will continue advancing the development of the existing industries that have driven growth historically, while also allocating time to support new industries that can drive future growth

Share of Alliance time, focus, and resources

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

with our priorities and identified additional

PRIMARYRESPONSIBILITY

SUPPORTINGROLE * NEWROLE

STRATEGIC PLAN SUMMARY

Over the next ten years, the Alliance wants to be a driving force in establishing Greenville - Pitt County as more than the gem of eastern North Carolina We have the education assets, anchor companies, and talented workforce that are critical for economic dynamism and growth

This plan outlines a path to fill in the missing gaps. We need to increase our supply of industrial product, invest in a shared brand identity that we can use to promote our assets to location decision makers, and deepen partnerships and coordination of our business development processes With sound execution of this plan and continued collaboration with our partners, we can ensure that decision makers beyond North Carolina know why they should call Greenville - Pitt County home

PROSPERITY

Be among the fastest-growing metros in our peer group

PARTNERSHIP

Continuously earn trust and confidence of our economic development partners

PROMOTION

Establish the metro as a premier MSA for industrial projects

INNOVATIVEEDO

Establish the Greenville ENC Alliance as a thought- leader in next-gen economic development strategies

LONG-TERMVISION

Serve as guiding force keeping economic development priorities top-of-mind for leaders

THANK YOU TO OUR INVESTORS

SUSTAINING INVESTORS

MUNICIPALITIES

Town of Ayden

Town of Bethel

Town of Farmville

DIAMOND LEVEL ($250,000 +)

PLATINUM LEVEL ($100,000 - $249,999)

GOLD LEVEL ($50,000 - $99,999)

Barnhill Contracting Co

Blount Family Companies

Curtis Construction Delcor, Inc.

First Citizens Bank

First National Bank

Hendrix-Barnhill Co.

Hilton Greenville

SILVER LEVEL ($25,000 - $49,999)

Advance Mechanical

C A Lewis, Inc

Children's World Learning Center

E R Lewis Construction Company

ECVC, Inc

East Carolina Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

Farrior & Sons, Inc. Construction

BRONZE LEVEL

Agracel

BK8 Investments

BW Architecture

Blount Properties

Clark-Branch Realtors

Colombo, Kitchin, Dunn & Porter, LLP

Conterra Networks

Custom Building Company

David Price Construction

ElectriCities of North Carolina

First Bank

Forvis

Koinonia Christian Center

POMO, LLC

Precision Walls, Inc

Southern Bank

Garris Evans Lumber Company

Hudson Brothers Construction Co

Kittrell & Armstrong

Mullarkey Real Estate Group

MetroNet

($5,000 - $24,999)

Fuji Silysia Chemical USA

Greenville - Pitt County Chamber of Commerce

Haystack Realty Group

Horne & Horne, PLLC

IIC Carolinas

Inner Banks Media

LBA Group, Inc

L R Griffin and Associates, LLC

Litchfield Wealth Partners

Milestone Wealth

North State Steel

Town of Fountain

Town of Grimesland

Village of Simpson

T A Loving Company

Truist

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Pecheles Automotive Group

Penco Products, Inc

Piedmont Natural Gas

Pitt Community College

Sound Partners

United Bank

University Book Exchange

Pair Electronics

Pilot John International

Pitt Electric

Red Shark Digital

Roebuck Staffing Company, LLC

Sawyer's Fun Park

Sentinel Risk Advisors

Terracon

Transworld Business Advisors of Eastern NC

Wesley M Measamer, CPA, P A