High Country's magnetism draws tourists, industry.

• Author: Blake, Kathy
• Position: SPONSORED SECTION

The town of Boone is 3,333 feet above sea level, the highest of any 10,000-plus population city east of the Mississippi River. Downtown streets climb between specialty shops of local art, restaurants of local and international fare and merchants with wares indicative of mountain living. Appalachian State University blends into this Blue Ridge setting with more than 150 undergraduate and graduate degree programs for its enrollment of about 18,000. The college graduated 3,500 this May.

An appreciation for the environment is omnipresent, both in town and on campus. In July 2014, App State launched its five-year plan, "The Appalachian Experience: Envisioning a just and sustainable future." The concept is for students to understand a mission of caring for the planet and its people. The school mission statement challenges students to "balance critical, creative and global thinking in a living laboratory, transforming theory into practice and fostering responsible citizenship." ASU's Walker College of Business has a graduate concentration in sustainable business as part of its MBA curriculum.

It's not unusual for the mountains' magnetism to hold students after graduation. "Appalachian State makes considerable effort to reach out to local and regional business and industry to provide valuable services while students gain valuable experience," says Joe Furman, director of Watauga County Planning & Inspections and Economic Development. Local businesses and sectors that use App State as a pipeline include ECR Software; the Watauga County Board of Education; local government; and finance, real-estate and insurance companies, Furman says.

"Graduates of the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment find jobs with local contractors and start their own contracting businesses. Recent graduate entrepreneurs start businesses of all types."

Business ventures in Watauga are as colorful as the scenery. "We have very interesting homegrown niche industries," Furman says, offering up the well-known Mast General Store, Cheap Joe's Art Stuff (art supplies), Misty Mountain Threadworks (climbing gear), Goodnight Brothers (country ham) and Hollar and Greene Produce (wholesale cabbage). Samaritan's Purse, the Christian relief organization, is the county's fourth-largest employer. "We would like to attract computer software developers, medical-implement manufacturing and outdoor-recreation equipment manufacturing. We also place priority on assisting...