Blog

Here in the Gov. Perdue Piedmont Regional office, we’ve been doing a lot of listening lately.

To close out the year, I joined David Belton and Marion Sullivan on a tour of meetings with various regional leaders. We wanted to hear about accomplishments and initiatives from 2010 and to talk about what’s ahead in 2011.

Participants in the this week’s conversations included Mayors Anthony Foxx (Charlotte), Scott Padgett (Concord), Bob Misenheimer (Kannapolis) and Susan Klutz (Salisbury); and Mecklenburg County Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Roberts.

The leaders asked for Gov. Perdue’s continued support for creative educational programs and even more help recruiting new business investment. We noted the leaders praised the work of N.C. Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco for his efforts in business recruitment.

The leaders were understandably concerned about the 2012 budget and its potential implications for city and county funding.

We were pleased to note that Gov. Perdue received accolades for her leadership in the creation of the Mobility Fund, which provided funding for the Yadkin River Bridge/Interstate 85 improvement project.

Mayor Misenheimer was particularly complimentary of DOT’s work in preparing State roads for the recent snowstorm.

We appreciated the dedication and commitment by our state’s hard-working local leaders and look forward to a continuing partnership.

 Pictured below: Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, Mecklenburg County Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Roberts, Marion Sullivan and David Belton.

The Governor’s Piedmont Office was pleased to host this week the second in a series of Community Days for North Carolina’s non-profit sector around the State.  I was joined by Marion Sullivan, Director of Intergovernmental and External Affairs for the Governor’s Office in Raleigh. 

This particular forum was held through the generous auspices of the Davidson County Community College’s Davie Campus in the Town of Mocksville, and the Governor’s Office partnered with the N.C. Center for Nonprofits and HandsOn Northwest North Carolina to make for a very successful event.

Nineteen individuals, including representatives of a wide variety of non-profits from several counties of the northwest Piedmont, were part of the event.  Participants discussed the critical issues facing their organizations, communities and service areas, while learning about the Governor’s agenda and how it relates more specifically to their activities.  They were also given the opportunity to learn about the Piedmont Office and how it might be of help. 

The networking provided by the forum allowed everyone to make new connections and in some cases learn about the Center for Nonprofits or HandsOn for the first time.  The day concluded with a series of proposed action items for follow-up by the Center, HandsOn Northwest and the Governor’s Office.

The Governor’s Office would like to thank Davidson County Community College, the Center, HandsOn and all the participants for making this day very productive and enjoyable.  We look forward to similar days around the State during the remainder of 2010.

Peter Gilchrist, District Attorney for Mecklenburg County, announced on Thursday that he will not seek re-election and will retire after 35 years as the county’s chief prosecutor. 

For more than three decades, Gilchrist ably guided his department through the extraordinary growth of Charlotte and all of the public safety challenges related to that growth.  At the same time, he always tried to conduct the activities of his office with honor and integrity, and consistently recognized that the District Attorney must be apolitical.

I would like to extend thanks to District Attorney Gilchrist on behalf of Governor Perdue for his years of service to the people of Mecklenburg County and the State of North Carolina.

Local and state elected officials, along with a few hundred spectators, gathered on the edge of Lake Norman in Huntersville, NC to witness the release of a bald eagle on a beautiful July 4 morning.  The release of the bald eagle (our national bird) not only commemorated Independence Day, but also served to honor North Carolina’s veterans and fallen service members who fought and sometimes gave the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom that Liberty experienced on the morning of July 4.

The keynote speaker at the event, which was attended by a number of veterans and active duty members of the military, was Col. Charles Dunn II of Pope Air Force Base.    Col. Dunn spoke eloquently of the honor and sacrifice characteristic of all service members, and showed his immense respect for his fellow service men and women as he shared some of his personal experiences in working with them.  Mayor John Woods of Davidson released the eagle, after which the Mayor offered some poignant remarks on the importance of the day and its particular relevance to him, the brother of a serviceman who gave his life during the Vietnam conflict.

The eagle, appropriately named Liberty, was brought to the Carolina Raptor Center on Memorial Day this year due to injuries suffered in a territorial dispute.   The Center, also located in Huntersville, receives approximately 700 injured or orphaned raptors each year at its Jim Arthur Rehabilitation Center for treatment, and over the course of its existence has admitted over 11,000 injured and orphaned raptors.  The Center’s further focus on education is reflected in its outreach to approximately 40,000 students each year.