AdvantageWest Hands Out Golden Eagle and Lone Eagle Awards During Annual Meeting
Date Posted: 11/14/2003
ASHEVILLE—AdvantageWest North Carolina—Western North Carolina’s Regional Economic Development Corporation— today announced three winners of the prestigious “Golden Eagle” Award and four winners of the new “Lone Eagle” award during the organization’s second annual meeting at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.
More than 400 community and civic leaders from across western North Carolina were present for the program, which included presentations from N.C. House Co-Speakers Richard Morgan and Jim Black and N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper.
The Golden Eagle Awards, chartered by AdvantageWest last year to recognize leadership and significant investments to western North Carolina’s economy, are awarded annually by the AdvantageWest board of directors. The board this year also instituted the “Lone Eagle” Award, given to area entrepreneurs who have made a positive impact on their communities. 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 Representative Charles Taylor, for his leadership in the U.S. Congress on behalf of his district and all of western North Carolina. Taylor has brought tens of millions in federal investment to western North Carolina, focusing on critical areas such as education, broadband Internet access and digital infrastructure, and traditional infrastructure issues such as highways and water/sewer systems. Taylor has also been a strong advocate of protecting the environment, heritage and culture of western North Carolina, while respecting individual private property right, and this year ushered legislation through congress that created the Blue Ridge Heritage Area, a congressional designation that could bring as much as $10 million in federal funding to protect and promote the region’s unique cultural and heritage assets.
A second Golden Eagle Award for Leadership was presented to Representative Wilma Sherrill, whose work in the most recent legislative session helped to break a deadlocked house by brokering a compromise that created the state’s first Co-Speakers of the House of Representatives. Co-Speakers Rep. Richard Morgan and Rep. Jim Black stood with AdvantageWest board member Connie Haire of Sylva to present the Award to Sherrill. Sherrill is known for her bipartisan efforts in Raleigh, and she has been an advocate of education, tougher standards on domestic violence, and finding innovative ways to curb the rising cost of healthcare.
A Golden Eagle Award for Community Investment was presented to Michell Hicks, Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian. Hicks accepted the award on behalf of the Cherokee, who through a partnership with Harrah’s Cherokee Casino have leveraged an estimated quarter of a billion dollars in economic impact through development of a hotel, casino and conference center. Currently, the project is expanding to create a second hotel tower, which will provide more world-class service, lodging, dining and entertainment to visitors from around the globe.
Lone Eagle awards were presented to four entrepreneurs, representing the Southwest, Asheville/Hendersonville metro, Northwest and Foothills areas of western North Carolina. For the Southwest, the Lone Eagle went to Phil Drake of Drake Software, one of the world’s largest providers of software for the tax industry, which is headquartered in Franklin and employs more than 500 people.
In the Asheville/Hendersonville metro area, the award went to J.W. Davis of Carolina First Bank. Davis started Mountain Bank in Hendersonville in 1996, and last year completed a merger with Carolina First that made the new bank a significant powerhouse in Southeastern community banking. J.W. Davis serves as president of Carolina First, and the new bank has more than 1,000 employees.
In the Northwest region, a Lone Eagle was presented to Art & Susan Barber, founders of Boone-based Charleston Forge. Charleston Forge is a leading manufacturer of metal indoor furniture, employing more than 350 people.
In the Foothills region, a Lone Eagle was presented to Shane Cooper of DeFeet, a textile business that makes socks and sports apparel for high-end bicycle racers around the world. DeFeet, a small but growing business, has more than 30 employees and operates in Hildebran.
Last year, the Golden Eagle Award for Community Investment was presented to Elaine D. Sammons of Sammons Enterprises Inc, and the Golden Eagle Award For Leadership was presented to AdvantageWest Chairman Gordon Myers.
AdvantageWest President & CEO Dale Carroll said, “Our second 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 sponsor Carolina First, Gold Sponsors The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian and Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, Silver Sponsor PSNC Energy, a SCANA Company, and Bronze Sponsors Crisp Hughes Evans and BB&T Governmental Finance.
Chartered by the N.C. General Assembly in 1994, AdvantageWest is western North Carolina’s public/private economic development partnership. Governed by a diverse board of directors from across the region, AdvantageWest has leveraged more than $400 million in investments through matching grant programs and regional initiatives.
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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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