Golden Eagle Awards Handed Out During AdvantageWest Annual Meeting
Date Posted: 11/10/2005
The fourth AdvantageWest annual meeting was held at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa on November, 9 2005. The meeting featured dinner, entertainment, a special presentation by North Carolina’s Senate President Pro-Tempore Marc Basnight, and an awards ceremony. Additionally, AdvantageWest board members took the stage to announce winners of the prestigious “Golden Eagle” Awards for Leadership and Community Investment.
More than 500 community and civic leaders from across western North Carolina were present for the program, which also featured live entertainment by western North Carolina’s Grammy award winning performer, David Holt.
The Golden Eagle Awards, chartered by AdvantageWest in 2002 to recognize leadership and significant investments to western North Carolina’s economy, are awarded annually. Winners are announced during the organization’s annual meeting. AdvantageWest President & 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.”
The Golden Eagle Award for Leadership was awarded to Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo, for his leadership in the region. During his tenure, WCU more than doubled the size of its campus, and created a number of new programs and initiatives, including a number of firsts for the state and nation.
A Golden Eagle Award for Community Investment was presented to The Biltmore Company President & CEO Bill Cecil Jr. An area landmark since 1890, Bilmtore employs more than 1600 with a $33 million annual payroll, and has an estimated economic impact of more than $351 each year.
AdvantageWest President & CEO Dale Carroll said, “Our fourth annual meeting was a tremendous success, and I’d like to thank all our participants for making the evening possible. Leaders from across western North Carolina came together to collectively celebrate our successes so far, and to review the road we must take to prepare for a new global economy. I would also like to give a special thanks to our board member Craig Madison for his leadership in the community and for 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 premier sponsors Carolina First and Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, Gold Sponsors McGill Associates, PSNC Energy, and Mountain Air, Event Sponsor The Biltmore Company, and Gift Sponsors Leisure Publishing and Southern Living.
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"As a life-long resident of western North Carolina I can’t imagine a more beautiful or diverse place to live and work."
D. Samuel Neill
Attorney-At-Law & AdvantageWest Board Member
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