Asheville Regional Airport, N.C.—The sixth AdvantageWest Economic Development Group annual meeting was held at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa on November 1, 2007. The meeting featured speeches by federal and state officials, an awards ceremony, dinner and a keynote address by a senior executive from Google, Inc. AdvantageWest board members took the stage to announce winners of the prestigious “Golden Eagle” Awards for Leadership and Community Impact, and assisted in a presentation of North Carolina’s highest civilian honor “The Order of the Long Leaf Pine”.
More than 525 community and civic leaders from across western North Carolina were present for the program. Presenters included Rhett Weiss, Esq. of Google Inc., U.S. Senator Richard Burr, Congressman Heath Shuler, and State Senator Walter Dalton, an Appropriations Co-Chair at the NC General Assembly.
The “Golden Eagle” Awards, chartered by AdvantageWest in 2002 to recognize leadership and significant investments to western North Carolina’s economy, are made annually. Winners are announced during the organization’s annual meeting. AdvantageWest CEO Dale Carroll said, “The award’s namesake is native to the North Carolina mountains and symbolizes independence and strength. AdvantageWest instituted the awards because the organization strives to secure economic independence and strength for the communities we serve, and recipients of this award will be those who have stood above the crowd to help empower western North Carolina.”
A “Golden Eagle” Award for Community Impact was presented to Google, Inc. Accepting the award was Senior Team Leader for Strategic Development Rhett Weiss, Esq. from the Google headquarters in California. Mr. Weiss led the site search team resulting in the selection of the AdvantageWest community of Lenoir in Caldwell County for a $600 million/200-employee data center currently under construction. The average salaries at the data center will be $48,000 per year and the new facility will contribute $1.06 billion to North Carolina’s cumulative gross state product value.
The “Golden Eagle” Award for Leadership was awarded to Becky Anderson, founder and executive director of HandMade in America for her leadership in community development for the region, state and nation. Mrs. Anderson’s career has also included economic development roles with the City of Asheville, Land-of-Sky Council of Governments and Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. She serves on the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Board, a federal designation and initiative for the region she co-founded.
AdvantageWest Board Member George Couch and State Senator Walter Dalton presented “The Order of the Long Leaf Pine” to Joe Eblen on behalf of Governor Mike Easley. Mr. Eblen was recognized for his lifetime of achievement as a coach, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Eblen Charities has made a difference in the lives of thousands of families and children throughout western North Carolina.
AdvantageWest CEO Dale Carroll said, “Our sixth annual meeting was a tremendous success, and I’d like to thank all the participants for making the evening possible. I would also like to give a special thanks to our board member Craig Madison for his leadership in the community and for serving as title sponsor by hosting this meeting at his facility, the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.” The meeting was also made possible through the financial support of several sponsors, including McGill Associates, Piedmont Natural Gas, Mountain 1st Bank & Trust, PSNC Energy and Google, Inc.
