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To be the business recruiter in South Iredell, you have to love NASCAR.South Iredell County is an area of Lake Norman NC Real Estate that is rapidly growing. Russell Rogerson Executive Director of the Mooresville-South Iredell economic Development Corporation qualifies.
As the growth in the motorsports industry slows, his organization is working with Mooresville area race teams on ways to use some other technology in other sectors of the economy. Rogerson says, "We believe that a lot of the technology could be very valuable to the military as well as others." This could effect Charlotte NC Real Estate as well.
It's been five months since Rogerson came from Findlay, Ohio where he was executive vice president of GreaterFindlayInc. He replaced Melanie O'Connell Underwood who resigned under pressure. This week the Charlotte business Journal asked Rogerson about his priorities for the South Iredell organization. Following are edited excerpts from that exchange:
What will you do differently at the Mooresville South Iredell economic development Corporation?
The area has had tremendous success over the years and the future looks bright. However, change is a constant thing in economic development and we must continue to adjust and that to the Lake Norman NC Real Estate market by developing strategies that target companies and industries that are growing. We are finishing up on our program of work that will identify our focus for 2009, but it is safe to say that we must look into the tech knowledge he arraigned off for opportunities, specifically in the biotechnology and alternative energy areas.
What do you need that you don't have currently available to you?
This is a tough question because I don't really see any outstanding deficiencies in the organization or the community. We do need to continue to add product in the form of industrial land and facilities with more than 50,000 sq. ft., but that isn't all going challenge to any growing community.
Racing is no longer a growth industry in the Charlotte region. How do we cope with a shrinking NASCAR?
I don't necessarily agree. Certainly the motorsports industry is undergoing some cutbacks due to the economy in the short run. But I believe that motorsports will continue to be a solid growth industry for many more years to come. There are several things that we are doing as an organization with the motorsports companies to assist them in dollars for flying their business. The technology that exists in this industry is very impressive and cutting-edge, so it is easily transferable to other, nontraditional markets for motorsports such as Charlotte NC Real Estate.
York and Lancaster counties in South cannot I have done a good job of recruiting office jobs. Can Mooresville do better at that?
We believe we have a lot to offer companies that are looking to locate office, back office and headquartered jobs, as well as Lake Norman NC Real Estate which is why we have been successful. However, space we will continue to get better and getting the word out about our attributes for these types of opportunities.
What is your view of incentives?
Incentives are necessary in order to be competitive in attracting jobs and investment. I prefer to look at incentives as an investment by the town, county and state as well as the private sector to
improve the economic viability of our community. It is important to balance the investment to make sure every deal is profitable to all parties involved, and that includes the company, employees, residents and governing bodies.
Can economic development Corporation do more to capitalize on the Lowe's Construction Inc. campus of growth?
Lowe's presents provides our community with many opportunities that we have been working on and will continue to work on into the future key for your eye on I-77 exit 33 over the next few years.
