There are plenty of Rowan County locals with big years ahead of them, but the Salisbury Post has chosen 10.

Today’s feature focuses on Jason Hord, a lifelong Rowan County resident who was recently named as the town manager in Granite Quarry, where he also holds the position of fire chief.

Hord was named the interim manager in February of 2024 and acted in that role until September, when the members of the Granite Quarry Town Council voted unanimously to approve hiring Hord as the new full-time town manager.

Hord is a lifelong resident of Rowan County, having been born and raised “in the Rowan side” of Kannapolis, he said. He graduated from A.L. Brown High School and has since lived in Salisbury and Rockwell, but he said that he has never lived outside of the county.

Before joining Granite Quarry, Hord was a long-time employee at Advance Auto Parts, beginning work for the company when he was 16, where he said he learned he had a “passion for retail and customer service.”

Hord stayed with Advance Auto Parts for over 20 years, when he said that he unfortunately had to move on due to the e-commerce companies causing a downturn in in-person business.

“I held positions there from the store level to the district level and survived the 2008 crash, but I saw the e-commerce market was getting bigger and bigger. I saw the writing on the wall that the brick-and-mortar storefront was going to decrease and everything would move towards online with Amazon and companies like that. So, my wife had gotten promoted at the time so we prayed about it, and this job opened up and they told me that I could work in the fire department as well, which was my other passion with retail,” said Hord.

Luckily, the director of public works position at Granite Quarry opened up in 2017 and Hord said that he took the position and quickly fell in love with the community.

“Once I got here, I truly felt at home. I kind of took a pay cut but sometimes you find a home no matter what the money is. I’ve never once looked back or frowned on my decision since,” said Hord.

Hord took over that fire department as chief in 2018, and while he gave up the public works department when he was named town manager, he said that he fought to keep his role as chief.

One of the main accomplishments that Hord said that he was proud of was when the Granite Quarry Fire Department became the first single-station department to receive an ISO class 1 rating, which is the best rating a department can receive for its fire protection.

“We were the first ISO 1 department that had a single station in N.C. in 2020. There were only 17 in the whole country, so I’m very proud of the accomplishment,” said Hord.

Since being named town manager, Hord said that one of his biggest accomplishments was finalizing the non-annexation agreement between Granite Quarry and Salisbury, which outlines the areas that each town agrees not to annex. Since that agreement was finalized, the town has had multiple annexation requests near Interstate 85, mostly surrounding the Rowan Summit shopping center. While the introduction of interstate commerce areas to Granite Quarry has presented relatively new challenges, Hord said the town is focused on annexing responsibly, looking at the coverage that is possible with the public safety departments.

Looking towards 2025, Hord pointed out a few projects that he said could “blow open at any time,” including expanding and filling the Granite Industrial Park and designing and working on the improvements to Granite Civic Park, which he said should be coming online later in the year.

In addition to the projects, Hord said that one of his goals since he joined Granite Quarry has been working to bring a grocery store to Granite Quarry. The town has been without since the early 2000s, when Winn-Dixie left town, and Hord said bringing in a store has been one of the most common requests for residents. 

“Even at the public works level, one of my biggest things was figuring out how to make that happen. How to make us attractive enough to bring in these companies. Our growth, residential, industrial and commercial, that has to be attractive,” said Hord.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one record/album to listen to, what would it be and why? Anything vintage George Strait. My wife just got us tickets to a George Strait concert last year for our 10th anniversary, and I’ve always just been a huge fan.

If they made a movie about your life, who should the producers cast to play you? It would have to be somebody who could be serious and funny at the same time because that’s who I am. He’d probably deny the role, but I have to go with Bradley Cooper.

What is your motto/mantra/favorite saying? Good better best, never rest until good is better and better becomes best.

Do you have a personal goal set for 2025? I’ve already accomplished a lot in my personal life, being married and having a family. I’m happy on that side, so I would have to say my goal is learning the job more. Being a town manager and learning to absorb more from my peers who graciously answer all the questions I throw at them all the time. I just want to help make Granite Quarry the best that it can be.

Who is someone that you will be watching in 2025? I’m very interested to watch Bryce Young. I honestly want to see if the Panthers finally have their quarterback and can have a good season, because I’m a huge fan.