WORKING REGIONALLY. SUCCEEDING SIGNIFICANTLY.: The public-private economic development organization known as North Carolina's Southeast is proving collaboration across 20 counties works.

• Author: Bivins, Lawrence

Shaped by vast geography, diverse demography and a vivid patchwork of communities and industries, North Carolina lends itself well to regional collaboration for economic development. Yet, political lines of demarcation among counties and municipalities can challenge such efforts. A strategic consensus must first be built and then sustained tactically by ongoing and careful, even painstaking, give and take.

Few are more aware of what it takes to nurture successful regional economic development than Steve Yost. As president and CEO of North Carolina's Southeast, he oversees a public-private partnership that markets the state's southeast region. The organization pulls together 20 counties from the Atlantic Ocean to the Uwharrie Mountains.

It may be surprising that a region carrying the moniker of "Southeast" includes an ancient mountain range as well as Anson and Montgomery counties of the Piedmont and Moore and Richmond of the Sandhills. Thus are the lines of regional collaboration.

"Our population is now larger than that of 13 U.S. states," says Yost, a veteran economic developer who has worked at the county, state and regional levels across his 30-year career. "The total GDP of our top five metro areas is greater than either Vermont or Wyoming."

STRONGER TOGETHER

Yost's organization succeeds through focus. Instead of chasing after today's crowded stable of corporate unicorns, the Southeast targets a small handful of industry clusters for outreach. It includes traditional sectors like metalworks and agribusiness and newer targets like aerospace and advanced textiles.

The region's vast footprint encompasses the state's major military installations--Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base among them. This enhances appeal to defense contractors and military suppliers. Anchored by the Port of Wilmington and supported by recent improvements in railroads and highways, the Southeast has become a choice destination for global logistics and retail distribution operations.

"There may be some economic development programs that still emphasize a 'shoot anything that flies and claim everything that falls' mission," Yost says. "That's not us. It never has been. We focus tightly on our competitive strengths as a region and on the activities we excel at as an organization."

With a staff of just four, Yost and his team generate leads for the region's counties by reaching out to growing companies whose business strategies could benefit from an expansion or relocation to southeastern North Carolina. Utilizing digital marketing tools, face-to-face outreach, and a network of relationships with allies, corporate real estate brokers and location advisers, the organization funnels qualified opportunities to its local partners.

"We also provide technical support in the form of research and project management to those counties that lack such specialized expertise in-house," says Yost, noting that 14 of the Southeast's 20 counties are classified by the N.C. Department of Commerce as "Tier One," the highest level of economic distress.

The organization's roots go back to the mid-1990s, when the N.C. General Assembly created regional economic development commissions to ensure each of the state's 100 counties had access to impactful job creation strategies. When legislators dismantled the network in 2014, the Southeast shifted to a public-private model that leveraged resources and leadership from member counties and private investors. The move has shown impressive results. Since then, the organization has grown from 11 counties to 20. Earlier this year, Jones and Richmond counties joined the fold.

"We've had inquiries from counties we've had to turn away because they just weren't the right fit," Yost says. "But nothing speaks more compellingly to our success than the fact that counties and private investors know our model, like our model and want to join us."

It was during Gene McLaurin's 15 years as mayor of Rockingham that he came to understand what all it takes to bring new companies and jobs to southeastern North Carolina. The town partnered with Richmond County to expand water and wastewater capacity and create new industrial parks. Later, as a Democratic state senator representing Anson, Richmond, Scotland and Stanly counties, McLaurin worked with Gov. Pat McCrory and his administration officials to establish a state supported non-profit to lead economic development service delivery.

"I was a businessperson, so it made perfect sense," says McLaurin, who now chairs the board of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), the statewide entity he helped champion.

"Economic development is a team sport and it's regional, not just within county silos," says McLaurin. "Criss-crossing the state, I see many examples of cooperation among counties." When not traveling on behalf of EDPNC, McLaurin heads Quality Oil Co., part of the venture firm ZV Pate...