The author, John Marek, is executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership.
Some economic developers make a game of collecting letters after their name – CEcD, FM, HLM – but the only ones I want to see after mine are AAS, Actually Accomplishes Stuff*. That’s what I want to be known for and that’s what our community should aspire to as well; to be a community of makers and doers.
On Aug. 10, the inaugural Anson County Kids Expo will take place in Uptown Wadesboro. A dozen young entrepreneurs age 5-13 will be displaying their wares and competing for prizes based on the creativity of their products and the viability of their business plans. I am honored to be a judge for the event and excited that so many young people are interested in making things and selling them.
And the entrepreneurial spirit is not limited to preteens. Since the opening of REV Uptown, we have been inundated with questions from Wadesboro residents about starting businesses; everything from baked goods to hemp products to screen-prints. Shortly after we announced the REV project, Chipper Long and Mike Phillips purchased the vacant building a few doors down and are converting it into a sandwich shop. Makers and doers!
In conjunction with REV Uptown, we are participating in the state’s Downtown Strong initiative, and have hired (with the financial assistance of the N.C. Department of Commerce) a consultant to work with us and uptown building owners to determine the “best and highest” use for those buildings, the costs associated with renovating them and how to get that ball rolling.
Speaking of rolling, I’m sure that some of you reading this are doing exactly that with your eyes when I talk about an exciting future for Uptown Wadesboro. Believe me, I understand your skepticism, but you’d have to be willfully blind not to see the progress we’ve made in just a few short years, and extrapolating that success out over the next decade is it really that hard to envision an even more vibrant Uptown Wadesboro with shops, restaurants and entertainment venues?
* Not the word I typically use, but this is a family publication.