North Carolina furniture makers are increasingly marketing their products to overseas markets. State furniture exports are rising as the industry targets markets in such regions as Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East.
The philanthropy of many prominent citizens across the state, as well as businesses and citizens of modest means, supports charities, colleges, universities, and many community causes. A representative sampling is profiled.
Kenneth R. Hyde, Jr. is president and CEO of Wilson-based Hackney Brothers Inc., the nation's largest manufacturer of custom-built refrigerated truck bodies and the fifth-oldest manufacturing firm in North Carolina.
Les Garner, president of North Carolina Wesleyan College, is adopting an aggressive approach for developing Eastern North Carolina that includes facilitating the creation of alliances among educators, economists, entrepreneurs, businessmen, and government officials.
The Global TransPark, or GTP, is taking shape as determined, long-range planning and regional boosterism combine to promote the project and address concerns, such as the method ultimately used to obtain land.
Adrienne Oxendine is the director of Robeson County's Communities in Schools program, one aspect of the county's education reform movement. The effort seeks out educators, business people, civic leaders, and parents to address and rectify problems.
Robeson County's Southeastern Regional Medical Center, located in Lumberton, is more than a traditional hospital. The Center offers such programs as hospice care and the Lifestyle Fitness Center Spa to citizens of Robeson and surrounding counties.
Robeson County is examining its strengths and weaknesses in an effort to aid its business climate and to improve all aspects of the county. This community profile analyzes Robeson County's self-assessment.
Robeson County is marketing itself as a tourist county, and Robeson's Image Improvement Task Force is taking measures to reinforce the tourism industry.
Agribusiness is North Carolina's biggest industry, accounting for one-third of the gross state product. The industry's ability to keep abreast of today's business practices and technology accounts for much of its success.
Research performed at state universities and research facilities fosters the growth of agribusiness by keeping the industry abreast of the latest technologies and techniques.
Cary's Weston Park, a nine-acre lot overlooking Lake Crabtree, is the site of the North Carolina Bar Association's new $6 million, 50,000-square-foot headquarters. This is just one of a number of construction projects in rapidly expanding Cary.