SALISBURY — The Rowan Economic Development Council held its fourth annual meeting on March 26 at the F&M Trolley Barn where elected officials and local figures from across Rowan County attended to find out about the current state of economic development in the region.

“We were trying to demonstrate the success of economic development efforts that are coordinated, where everyone is collaborating with each other,” Rowan EDC President and CEO Rod Crider said.

In 2023, the county added 342 new jobs with an average wage of just under $30 per hour and $197.6 million in capital investment. Companies like General RV, Chick-fil-A and DHL Supply Chain are set to create hundreds of jobs and provide nearly $200 million in total investment when they open later this year. Furthermore, 19.5 million square feet for speculative building development has been realized.

In the last four years, the Forward Rowan campaign has generated 2,529 new jobs with an average wage of $25.82 per hour and $986 million in new capital expenditures.

The “Choose Rowan” talent attraction campaign saw an upgrade with a concierge relocation service that lets employers efficiently acclimate new hires to the county and improves recruitment endeavors.

Gary Blabon of Novant Health, Salisbury City Council Member David Post and former WBTV reporter David Whisenant were each given special awards for all that they have done for the county.

Craig Lamb, the former vice president of corporate and continuing education at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College before he retired last year, won the “Rock Star of the Year Award” for his participation in the Growing Rowan project that was the basis for the Forward Rowan initiative and the Rowan Education Collaborative.

“It’s a great honor. It’s recognition of the impact workforce development has on the success of Rowan County’s economic development,” Lamb said.

Salisbury Mayor Karen Alexander was pleased to hear how much Rowan County has evolved in recent years, but is aware of the city and the rest of the county have to adapt to the changes.

“I think that getting ahead of the curve is going to be important because while the growth that you see is coming, we have to be ready to embrace it and we need to have the policies in place, the zoning in place, so that we don’t disrupt our community in a bad way,” Alexander said.

Given how much potential the county has, Rowan County Commissioner Greg Edds sees untapped workers as the key to fully realizing their long term goals.

“One of the things we’re all trying to grapple and find an answer to is, how do we get folks that are on the sidelines to get involved?” Edds said. “We’ve got folks still sitting at home, we’re trying to get those folks reengaged.”

The meeting’s keynote speaker was Jeanette Goldsmith, vice president of Strategic Development Group out of Greenville, South Carolina. Goldsmith is a site selection consultant who assists companies in locating the right municipalities and sites for investing.

She went over trends in site selection and believes Rowan County is in a good situation to remain on the path it has built.

“Rowan County, I think, is very well positioned for a couple of reasons. One is, being a part of the Charlotte metro area. It gets a lot of recognition because it’s part of a larger region, but then in its own right, it’s got a lot of logistics assets. So, being on the I-85, having access to rail,” Goldsmith said. “I would say that Rowan County has spent a lot of time investing in sites and buildings.”