By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Boone Area Chamber of Commerce CEO David Jackson may have lovingly called the Nov. 15 “State of the Community” luncheon hosted at Blowing Rock’s Chetola Mountain Resort his organization’s “nerd event,” but the Evergreen Room was filled with like-minded individuals appreciative of the information shared as well as for the networking opportunity.
Lunch was, of course, scrumptious with three different choices of meat, including BBQ pork straight off the pig being carved right before your very eyes. A favorite side dish? Pimento Mac & Cheese.
In some respects, of course, the event was a celebration of the past year’s Boone Area Chamber of Commerce accomplishments, including the grand opening of the organization’s new headquarters and Jackson’s recapitulation of the planning process leading up to it. In addition, he reminded the attendees of the Chamber’s core operational pillars of Community, Education, Advocacy and Connection.
Jackson also acknowledged the three primary obstacles that the business community has in attracting key employees: available childcare, housing and workforce development. All to frequently, he said, good candidates for hiring arrive and quickly rethink any decision because of an inability to find affordable housing. Businesses choose not to relocate because workforce deficiencies. Many people choose other options because of perceived inadequacies in available childcare.
Collaborating with the now in-house Watauga Economic Development Commission administered by the Boone Chamber, Jackson outlined initiatives of BACC in all three areas.
He introduced Cyndi Dancy, owner and principal of Dancy Research, who is leading the Boone Chamber and Watauga Economic Development Commission’s joint study on Childcare in the area. Dancy started her presentation with a startling number about the importance of childcare to economic development: that 90 percent of a child’s brain development occurs by the time he or she has reached the age of kindergarten (5 years old). Dancy went on to report on both employer and parent surveys that her agency hopes to complete by the end of November about childcare services in the area.
Joe Furman, the Executive Director of the Watauga Economic Develop Commission outlined the group’s membership, the recent history of meetings, and some of the activities in which the EDC is engaged regarding Housing and Workforce Development, as well as the work in Childcare.
Jim Hamilton, a longtime county extension director for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, discussed the importance of agriculture, in particular focusing on three areas: Christmas Trees, meat production, and locally grown food crops.
Hamilton reported that Watauga County is the 39th most likely county nationally to lose agricultural acreage, owing at least in part to the burgeoning construction of seasonal and second homes in the region. He said that in the early 2000s, there were as many as 32 Christmas Tree farms in Watauga but that number had now shrunk to 10-12. He also offered that the new, “community friendly” meat processing plant being built adjacent to the landfill will be an important resource for area livestock producers.
Jonathan Allen, owner of Allen Wealth Management, moderated a Q&A session, which quickly attracted a lot of questions aimed at Dancy regarding Childcare.
More than 100 members of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce attended the event.
