Haywood Proctor, chairman of the Dillon County Public-Private Partnership (DCPPP), gave a report to the Dillon County Council at a recent meeting.
Proctor presented council with an updated financial report.
Proctor also spoke about the Boeing sponsorship. Boeing officials visited the area including Dillon County. They visited schools, met with public officials at a local restaurant, and held a community forum.
The DCPPP sponsored an Industry Appreciation Luncheon at a local restaurant. Many industry leaders and public officials attended. Proctor said that existing industry is the strongest part of economic development, and the DCPPP tries to do a great deal with existing industries and meet their needs.
They also organized a Workforce Development Focus Group. He said the council worked hard to get Wyman-Gordon here, but that’s not the end. Proctor said workforce development is the key. He said the workforce has got to be skilled and trained. They are promoting education and workforce training in Dillon County. Members of the focus group include: Richard Schafer, Chairman -Dillon County School Board; Dr. Ron Bartley, President -NETC; Dr. John Kirby, Superintendent -Latta School District; Ray Rogers, Superintendent -Dillon School District Four; Jerry Strickland, Director -Dillon County A-Tech Center; and Rep. Jackie Hayes.
Proctor highlighted the following accomplishments of the Workforce Development Focus Group:
1. Coordinated with local industries to formulate training programs that would meet their workforce training requirements.
2. Created a Dual Credit Program with NETC and the Dillon and Latta School Districts.
3. Promoted joint cooperation between NETC and Dillon A-Tech Center to share training facilities.
4. Traveled with NETC at the request of Wyman-Gordon to North Wilkesboro, NC, to tour the Wilkes Community College workforce training facilities. Requested financial assistance from Rep. Jackie Hayes to acquire equipment to train our Dillon County Workforce in Mechatronics and Pre-Engineering. Rep. Hayes requested $300,000 from the State General Fund, and the request was approved to purchase this equipment. This equipment is now at Dillon County A-Tech Center.
5. Another funding request was presented to Rep. Hayes to provide CDL training on the NETC Dillon campus to help provide truck drivers to Harbor Freight and the Inland Port. The DCPPP requested $260,000 to purchase two tractors, two trailers, and a truck driver’s simulator, which will be located on the campus of NETC.
6. Included in this CDL funding is the cost of a forklift, $25,000 that NETC will use to offer forklift driver training of their campus. This forklift training will provide employees for Harbor Freight and other local industries that need this type employee.
7. Assisted NETC and local industries in developing a curriculum that would meet the requirements of our local industries workforce training needs. The most recent of these classes started on the NETC campus on May 17 with 18 students.
The Dillon County Public-Private Partnership acquired the services of a grant writer to apply for grants that will assist us in our Dillon County Economic Development projects. Their first grant request was with Perdue. This grant was requested to assist us in the workforce training efforts. They are presently preparing a grant application to Duke Energy.
The DCPPP also created an Airport Study Committee to look into the possibility of upgrading the Dillon County Airport facilities. Richard Schafer and Charles Taylor were appointed to this committee to work with the County Administrator and County Council. They have met with the County Administrator and the FAA and are moving ahead with this project.
Proctor presented the following recommendations and future goals:
The Dillon County Public-Private Partnership recommends that Council seriously consider a more active role for the partnership as we move forward with economic development projects in Dillon County. The partnership was created for the purpose of providing a vehicle that could operate in the role that is presently being occupied by the Marlboro Development Team. They envision the partnership being in a position to buy, sell and develop property that would be beneficial to the citizens and future businesses and industries of Dillon County. The partnership is a nonprofit organization that could take advantage of any positive gains and return these profits to economic development projects in the form of workforce training, infrastructure needs or any worthwhile project that might need assistance. They strongly recommend that the Council consider expanding the role of the partnership in future Dillon County economic development projects to take advantage of the many positives that the partnership has to offer.
They also recommend that the partnership be more involved in economic development projects from the conception to completion in order to bring workforce training to the negotiating table. This plan of action would insure that going forward workforce development would always be in the forefront of these negotiations. Hopefully, they have learned from our past experiences that workforce development should play a major role in economic development recruiting. As we all know an available and skilled workforce will always attract major industry to our county. Our future goals are to work more closely with all of the entities in Dillon County to promote economic development in our county. Some of these goals are listed below:
—Continue to work with our Workforce Training Focus Team as we focus on a better trained and higher skilled workforce for Dillon County.
—Continue to pursue airport upgrades.
—Continue to apply for grants to promote economic development in Dillon County.
—Promote development of a Frontage Road at the Hwy. 34 – I-95 exit.
—Promote development of a franchise hotel at Hwy. 34 and I-95 exit or the South of the Border exit.
—Promote development of several franchise restaurants in Dillon County.
—Encourage businesses to locate at all of the I-95 exits by providing lists of real estate locations available to franchises for development.
—Promote development of a new automobile dealership in Dillon County.
—Encourage and promote economic development in the Lake View and Latta communities of Dillon County in order to bring jobs to the rural areas of Dillon County.
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To view this presentation, watch the May meeting of the Dillon County Council on www.thedillonherald.com or on The Dillon Herald’s page on YouTube.