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MAY 1, 2020
In April 2020, Hayes Group Consulting reached out to economic development leaders in higher education, on Main Street, and in local and regional roles to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s impacting their work. We asked them to share strategies and techniques that are helping them during this crisis and to look into their crystal balls to tell us what they believe some lasting impacts could be.
A network of forty-three golf courses in a twenty-mile radius with a vast hospitality and tourism sector to support it. A large and well-respected healthcare provider with 5,000 employees and four hospitals serving fifteen counties. A robust entrepreneurial spirit best showcased in the inviting and bustling downtown Southern Pines area.
Moore County, North Carolina, is not your typical community and its approach to economic development is also not typical.
Following a 2018 strategic planning effort, Moore County’s economic development organization, Partners in Progress, led by executive director Pat Corso focused on three key areas to grow and strengthen the community’s economy: entrepreneurship, golf-related businesses and healthcare. And, so far, the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been too detrimental to these efforts.
According to Corso, projects in these three focus areas are still moving along. With no statewide closure for courses, golfers are still golfing. As such, recruiting and expanding efforts for golf-related businesses is still active. With the assistance of NC Southeast Regional Economic Development Partnership and a consultant, the organization is assembling a golf industry supply chain analysis to identify the specific companies Partners in Progress wants to attract to Moore County.
Healthcare also continues to move forward. Corso had a clinical trials showcase in the works for this coming fall. The object was to showcase the potential of Moore County to industries who could make the pipeline work to their benefit. Even though the pandemic has affected progress, Corso is still hoping to have a showcase promoting the clinical trials potential at First Health of the Carolinas in the fall. With assistance from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, North Carolina BIO and the North Carolina Military Business Center small pharma, medical textile and implements, and other life science companies will be invited to the showcase.
Out of the 2018 strategic plan, Partners in Progress began thinking about the development of an entrepreneurial hub. The concept would be an effort to assist northern Moore County, isolated both geographically and in prosperity from the economically robust southern part of the county, grow their economy and recover from the lingering effects of back-to-back hurricanes in 2018. Recently, the organization was awarded a 2019 Disaster Supplement Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant by the Economic Development Administration to study their entrepreneurial ecosystem and the feasibility of a hub. Corso anticipates the project to continue forward movement, potentially hindered only by the ability of firms to respond to the RFQ in a timely fashion.
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital
While Moore County’s economic development activities differ from traditional economic developers (the bulk of their effort isn’t spent trying to land that Giant Industry) the roles shared by Partners in Progress and the Moore County Chamber of Commerce are very traditional. In general, Corso and his team focus on recruitment and retainment of large industry, while the Chamber tends to the small business community. But with so many economic development projects on hold or drastically slowed down, and the needs of the small business community so great right now, Corso’s focus has shifted.
Most of Corso’s time these days is being spent on Moore County’s small businesses, something that doesn’t normally garner a lot of his time. But as a business owner himself, Corso understands their particular needs, quickly establishing a rapport with small business owners. When COVID-19 hit, Corso quickly turned his attention and resources to helping the Chamber help their small businesses. The relationship between Corso and his counterpart Linda Parsons, president and CEO of the Moore County Chamber, was already well-established before this crisis—Corso sits on the Chamber board and Parsons is a member of the Partners in Progress board.
Parsons echoed Corso’s statement about their good working relationship and says it has become even stronger. Speaking of Partners in Progress, Moore County Chamber of Commerce and the convention and visitors bureau, Parsons stated “The pandemic has really driven our collaborative efforts to a new level and strengthened our partnership even more.”
The two directors and their teams worked first to reach out with information on the rapid-fire release of statewide executive orders and to facilitate conversations with small business owners for training and support opportunities to get them through this crisis. One of Corso’s main objectives is getting people connected with the safety nets that exist to help them get to the next thirty or sixty days. He’s spent time educating business owners to get them “in line” and familiar with the process to obtain the assistance they need. At the time of this interview, the CARES Act Provisions were on the brink of going live.
“Run don’t walk to your bank,” was Corso’s advice at the time. We can see today just how right he was with about 70% of small businesses having applied for assistance and the Paycheck Protection Program funding having been exhausted in two weeks.
Pat Corso was one of the founders of Partners in Progress in 2002 and has been the executive director since 2011
When asked to consider the long-term implications of this global pandemic, Corso said he’d like to think we’ll all pick up where we left off. But he did offer more than pure optimism with what he hopes might be a shift to rural living and possible changes to relocation patterns. He sees a post-COVID-19 future in which people who have spent time in larger cities might consider a change from their urban dwellings to places like rural North Carolina.
Corso believes the teleworking, virtual meeting world we are living in today has shown people the practicability of working remotely. And he doesn’t limit it to working from your couch or dining room table. Corso wonders how co-worker spaces might take on new meaning in our next normal.
Parsons agreed with his forecast, saying it’s already come up in a number of virtual meetings she has attended. The three entities—Partners in Progress, the Chamber and the CVB—are developing a back-in-business video and she feels attracting people to relocate to Moore County will play a part in this project.
While he is certainly concerned for the business owners and potential projects of his community, Corso’s tone during the entire interview was positive and even-keeled. His advice for other economic developers was to remember that they’ve seen and worked through a lot of crises over their careers, the ’87 crash or the gas crisis of the ‘70s, for instance. This won’t be the last disaster to give economic developers pause and it’s up to them to articulate a positive statement on what happens next.
Indeed, Corso is optimistic. He is spending his time continuing the necessary work for the growth they are planning for in Moore County. To use a golf phrase, Partners in Progress is doing work today to ensure their projects are “teed up” for the post-COVID-19 economy. He closed, “Control getting ready for the new opportunities coming at the end of this. What can you do to be sure you’re creating opportunity on the other side? Selling ideas is not easy in this time, but we must to keep moving forward.”
https://www.moorebusiness.org/
https://www.moorecountychamber.com/
Looking for ways to support your local small businesses in today’s world? Here are just a few options: stock your beer fridge with growlers from your brewery; order soap from a local soap-maker; see if your local bookstore is still fulfilling orders and expand your to-be-read pile; take a few minutes to leave positive reviews online for your favorite local businesses and organizations. Find these and so many more with a quick “how to help small businesses during coronavirus” search online.
Pat Corso was one of the founders of Partners in Progress in 2002 and has been the executive director since 2011 Partners in Progress is the economic development organization serving all of Moore County, North Carolina. We are a non-profit, public/private entity with a 501(c)(3) tax status whose mission is to add wealth to the community by attracting investment to expand the tax base and increase jobs, wages and personal income — all directed toward maintaining and improving the quality of life for our citizens.
MAY 1, 2020
In April 2020, Hayes Group Consulting reached out to economic development leaders in higher education, on Main Street, and in local and regional roles to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s impacting their work. We asked them to share strategies and techniques that are helping them during this crisis and to look into their crystal balls to tell us what they believe some lasting impacts could be.
A network of forty-three golf courses in a twenty-mile radius with a vast hospitality and tourism sector to support it. A large and well-respected healthcare provider with 5,000 employees and four hospitals serving fifteen counties. A robust entrepreneurial spirit best showcased in the inviting and bustling downtown Southern Pines area.
Moore County, North Carolina, is not your typical community and its approach to economic development is also not typical.
Following a 2018 strategic planning effort, Moore County’s economic development organization, Partners in Progress, led by executive director Pat Corso focused on three key areas to grow and strengthen the community’s economy: entrepreneurship, golf-related businesses and healthcare. And, so far, the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been too detrimental to these efforts.
According to Corso, projects in these three focus areas are still moving along. With no statewide closure for courses, golfers are still golfing. As such, recruiting and expanding efforts for golf-related businesses is still active. With the assistance of NC Southeast Regional Economic Development Partnership and a consultant, the organization is assembling a golf industry supply chain analysis to identify the specific companies Partners in Progress wants to attract to Moore County.
Healthcare also continues to move forward. Corso had a clinical trials showcase in the works for this coming fall. The object was to showcase the potential of Moore County to industries who could make the pipeline work to their benefit. Even though the pandemic has affected progress, Corso is still hoping to have a showcase promoting the clinical trials potential at First Health of the Carolinas in the fall. With assistance from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, North Carolina BIO and the North Carolina Military Business Center small pharma, medical textile and implements, and other life science companies will be invited to the showcase.
Out of the 2018 strategic plan, Partners in Progress began thinking about the development of an entrepreneurial hub. The concept would be an effort to assist northern Moore County, isolated both geographically and in prosperity from the economically robust southern part of the county, grow their economy and recover from the lingering effects of back-to-back hurricanes in 2018. Recently, the organization was awarded a 2019 Disaster Supplement Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant by the Economic Development Administration to study their entrepreneurial ecosystem and the feasibility of a hub. Corso anticipates the project to continue forward movement, potentially hindered only by the ability of firms to respond to the RFQ in a timely fashion.
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital
While Moore County’s economic development activities differ from traditional economic developers (the bulk of their effort isn’t spent trying to land that Giant Industry) the roles shared by Partners in Progress and the Moore County Chamber of Commerce are very traditional. In general, Corso and his team focus on recruitment and retainment of large industry, while the Chamber tends to the small business community. But with so many economic development projects on hold or drastically slowed down, and the needs of the small business community so great right now, Corso’s focus has shifted.
Most of Corso’s time these days is being spent on Moore County’s small businesses, something that doesn’t normally garner a lot of his time. But as a business owner himself, Corso understands their particular needs, quickly establishing a rapport with small business owners. When COVID-19 hit, Corso quickly turned his attention and resources to helping the Chamber help their small businesses. The relationship between Corso and his counterpart Linda Parsons, president and CEO of the Moore County Chamber, was already well-established before this crisis—Corso sits on the Chamber board and Parsons is a member of the Partners in Progress board.
Parsons echoed Corso’s statement about their good working relationship and says it has become even stronger. Speaking of Partners in Progress, Moore County Chamber of Commerce and the convention and visitors bureau, Parsons stated “The pandemic has really driven our collaborative efforts to a new level and strengthened our partnership even more.”
The two directors and their teams worked first to reach out with information on the rapid-fire release of statewide executive orders and to facilitate conversations with small business owners for training and support opportunities to get them through this crisis. One of Corso’s main objectives is getting people connected with the safety nets that exist to help them get to the next thirty or sixty days. He’s spent time educating business owners to get them “in line” and familiar with the process to obtain the assistance they need. At the time of this interview, the CARES Act Provisions were on the brink of going live.
“Run don’t walk to your bank,” was Corso’s advice at the time. We can see today just how right he was with about 70% of small businesses having applied for assistance and the Paycheck Protection Program funding having been exhausted in two weeks.
Pat Corso was one of the founders of Partners in Progress in 2002 and has been the executive director since 2011
https://www.moorebusiness.org/
https://www.moorecountychamber.com/
Looking for ways to support your local small businesses in today’s world? Here are just a few options: stock your beer fridge with growlers from your brewery; order soap from a local soap-maker; see if your local bookstore is still fulfilling orders and expand your to-be-read pile; take a few minutes to leave positive reviews online for your favorite local businesses and organizations. Find these and so many more with a quick “how to help small businesses during coronavirus” search online.
Pat Corso was one of the founders of Partners in Progress in 2002 and has been the executive director since 2011 Partners in Progress is the economic development organization serving all of Moore County, North Carolina. We are a non-profit, public/private entity with a 501(c)(3) tax status whose mission is to add wealth to the community by attracting investment to expand the tax base and increase jobs, wages and personal income — all directed toward maintaining and improving the quality of life for our citizens.
Hayes Group Consulting LLC are economic and community development strategists dedicated to helping governments, non-profits, and entire communities thrive in a changing, competitive environment.
©2024 Hayes Group Consulting. All rights reserved.
©2024 Hayes Group Consulting. All rights reserved.
