Abstract:
Eastern North Carolina is an area of contrasts. The coastline draws tourists' dollars and million-dollar homes dot the beaches, while large sections of the interior are mired in poverty. Twelve of the region's forty-one counties lost population between 2000 and 2004. Charles Broadwell, publisher of the FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER; Jim Chestnutt, CEO of Washington-based National Spinning Co.; Tom Eagar, Wilmington-based CEO of the N.C. Ports Authority; Phillip Horne, president of Greenville-based Foundation of Renewal for Eastern North Carolina; and Darlene Waddell, executive director of the N.C. Global TransPark Authority in Kinston discuss with BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA senior editor Edward Martin the region's strengths and weaknesses and how to orient the region's assets to promote growth.