FAYETTEVILLE A City Poised for the Future.

Fayetteville is a city meeting the demands of a 21st-century economy. Many businesses are growing and developing in this thriving community.

If you haven't seen Fayetteville lately, you haven't seen Fayetteville.

This metropolitan community of almost 300,000 is in transition and poised for growth, prosperity and a place in the new economy. With a city center in metamorphosis, a new museum nearing completion and a focus on strengthening and diversifying the local economy, optimism is on the lips of most civic and economic leaders in Fayetteville.

Harry Whalen, president of the Fayetteville Area Economic Development Corp., likens the changes in the city to a phoenix-like transformation, rising from the ashes of urban decline and economic complacency.

"We've got a lot going for us in this community," he says, "including a central location on the Eastern Seaboard and a skilled labor pool, which is a real asset in the current tight national labor market. Those companies that need to obtain skilled employees should evaluate the availability of a capable and trained work force found in a military community."

The location Whalen speaks of is enviable from a business perspective -- Fayetteville is near two interstate highways, 1-95 and 1-40. The nearby Cape Fear River gives the community a surplus water supply, rare among large North Carolina cities. As for that labor pool -- a significant segment of it is made up of family members of soldiers and airmen on active duty at nearby Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base or military leaving those installations. The annual unemployment rate in 1999 of 3.8% appeals to companies looking to hire a trainable or skilled work force.

Fayetteville's recognition of its military presence as an asset to the community is a new phenomenon. The city, still struggling to shed the disparaging nickname "Fayettenam," has moved away from its image as a seedy, sleazy military town since the Vietnam War era. Today, the city embraces its identity as the home of some of the nation's premier military units and recognizes the abundance of highly trained workers in the area. It also takes pride in the rise of military commanders who have gone on to hold high military positions, including the current chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Hugh Shelton, a native of Speed, N.C.

The Military Presence as a Business Asset

Sources say that between 7,000 and 8,000 soldiers leave the Army at Fort Bragg each year -- one-term enlistees as well as senior officers who retire at the end of a long career. The "brain drain" when these people leave for jobs in other cities is notable. Today's soldiers are experienced and comfortable using expensive, sophisticated technology. Their departure perpetuates a lack of depth in the managerial talent available in Fayetteville. The city's future depends on finding ways to appeal to those people, capture that talent and employ it in ways that are beneficial to veterans and to the local business community.

Sometimes a military retiree becomes an entrepreneur. One notable example is Clarence Briggs. The founder of Advanced Internet Technologies, Briggs is a former Airborne officer who is using military training and former military associates to establish and grow a web-hosting and domain-registering business in Fayetteville. The company was featured in a December 1999 Forbes article and is...