For more than 40 years, civic and elected leaders have lauded regionalism as a worthy economic pursuit that is just waiting for somebody to get the ball rolling.
Yet, it has proved difficult to persuade those same leaders to pour money into a joint account to assist economic initiatives with potential regional impact. Equally challenging has been getting elected officials to provide money for projects in other counties.
The latest, and perhaps most ambitious, attempt at regionalism is coming from the Piedmont Triad Leadership Group.
The group, whose chairman is Kelly King, the chief executive of BB&T Corp., has received pledges from more than 30 investors worth a combined $6.5 million over five years.
That includes an overall $1 million pledge from BB&T, as well as $625,000 from the Winston-Salem Alliance and $500,000 from Wells Fargo & Co. Similar civic groups and businesses in Greensboro and High Point are contributing, and the leadership group is pursuing other pledges.
The Piedmont Triad Partnership has identified four industry sectors to benefit from the money: home furnishings, logistics and distribution, nanotechnology, and regenerative medicine.
Both King and Jim Morgan, the chairman of the partnership for 2009-10, took time recently to discuss the initiative and why they think that this effort will gain traction in the Triad.
An edited version of their comments follows:
Q. What made this fund-raising effort work in ways that previous efforts did not?
King: The real difference is that the fundraising followed the consensus that we built -- that we could no longer continue to operate in the future as we have in the past if we expect things to improve.
In the past, there have been debates and disagreements about theoretical or philosophical issues. If we don't change, we're never going to be able to improve our region. We have to be willing to move the needle to create jobs through meaningful projects.
Morgan: Strong leadership from Kelly King and other regional leaders, and a sense of urgency, since some of our basic manufacturing and other basic industries have moved overseas or closed.
Q.The clusters are an interesting mix -- one focused on a heritage industry that is struggling to stay relevant in the U.S., one that has a major and likely expanding role in the region, and two with potentially great hope but limited job-creation potential over the next five years.
Why did those four clusters emerge from the others?
King:These four clusters emerged because we were looking for immediate hits, actionable with high probabilities for success and new jobs, and not pie-in-the-sky projects.
It's reasonable to leverage the furniture market and the region's core competency in furniture as part of an effort to create a global furnishings magnet. The same thing applies with the aerotropolis initiative with the airport, the FedEx cargo hub, the interstate highway access.
We already have a lot of initiatives in the region with nanotechnology at Gateway and Piedmont Triad research parks, and the promising efforts with regenerative medicine, not only with Dr. (Anthony) Atala's institute, but other collaborative and supportive efforts.
Morgan: The High Point Market continues to be the leading furniture trade show in the world, and the related industries, such as design, photography and the return of some manufacturing, can make furniture a strong cluster.
The aerotropolis project is making great progress and has great potential for all the counties. Many of our outlining counties are building distribution centers. Nanotechnology and biotechnology are projects that are doing well and have great potential for the region.
All of these projects have great potential, and I am convinced that many regions around the world would like to have just one of these major initiatives.
Q. Will the focus of the $1.3 million be evenly split among the four industry sectors, or will one receive more funding than the others?
King: The leadership committee will look at proposals from groups within the four industry clusters, evaluate them objectively and allocate the money based on which initiatives will generate the highest probable and quickest payback.
Right now, we raised the $6.5 million on a hope and a bet. Once we start doing some things, and showing some real evidence, more people will be willing to invest more money.
Morgan:This will be decided by the executive committee with reports to the investors. It will be based on need. Some projects are moving faster than others and will get funding sooner.
Q. What do you envision as the first tangible symbols of this collaboration?
King: It has already occurred, considering that a group of talented and very busy leaders have been meeting on a pretty regular basis for two years now to forge this collaborative effort/teamwork. That shows real progress, along with getting such large organizations to commit $6.5 million over a five-year period.
Morgan:We believe we have already seen tangible symbols of collaboration by the executive and leadership committees working together for the last several years.
Q. Do you think this effort could galvanize regionalism, or just represent an important, but still small, step forward?
King: This really has the potential because each of these clusters is viable in the Triad, and any one of them has the potential for substantially transforming this region. The four combined can dramatically transform this region. And as people see that some of the reasons for the clusters' successes were regional efforts, there will be no going back.
Morgan: I believe that these projects will be successful and will demonstrate to the region how important it is for us to work together if we are going to continue to grow and prosper.
Q. What do you say to the naysayers this time around?
King: Inevitably, when you get together a group of people together to discuss economic initiatives, whether a challenge, a problem, an opportunity, there will be some with the attitude of ‘That's a great idea, somebody ought to do it.'
For 37 years, I've been looking for that somebody and can't find them. There's just you and me. I'm putting my money where my mouth is from a corporate point of view and my personal time into this.
So my answer to the naysayers is step up or shut up. That may be bold, but that's how I feel.
Morgan: They should become knowledgeable about what is going on in the region, get involved with the four projects and other regional initiatives. With the proper attitude and hard work, we will be successful in making the Piedmont Triad a national and world leader.
rcraver@wsjournal.com
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