Fayetteville, NC – On Wednesday, July 15, Fayetteville State University’s Rudolph Jones Student Center became the epicenter for critical regional discourse as it hosted the inaugural “Fayetteville Newsmakers” civic dialogue. Co-organized by The Assembly Network and the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville, the editorially led forum brought together a formidable panel of state officials, local policymakers, and entrepreneurial leaders—including Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin, Cumberland County Commission Chair Kirk deViere, and NC Department of Commerce Chief Deputy Secretary Kenny Flowers—to confront a vital question: “Where is our community’s next economy coming from?” Over the course of two hours, panelists and community members engaged in a forward-looking exploration of strategies designed to diversify the region’s economic footprint beyond its traditional retail and military pillars, focusing intensely on how to attract high-wage external investment to secure a prosperous, multifaceted future for the Greater Fayetteville area.
With regional income trailing state and national averages, the editorially led civic dialogue highlighted a collective determination to diversify the local economy beyond its historical reliance on retail and military staples, pivoting toward high-wage external investments, technological innovation, and structural equity.
The forum opened with insights from Kenny Flowers, Chief Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, who emphasized that North Carolina’s top-tier business rankings are the result of intentional, long-term planning. “We stay ready, so we don’t have to get ready,” Flowers noted, referencing the state’s First in Opportunity strategic plan. He identified key growth sectors driving the state’s modern innovation economy, including aerospace, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, healthcare, and artificial intelligence. However, Flowers noted that statewide success requires uplifting distressed regions. Despite a metro core, Cumberland County remains classified as a Tier 1 county, a legislative designation marking it among the 40 most economically distressed counties in North Carolina. Rather than viewing this label as a permanent setback, Flowers framed it as a strategic avenue for resources. “Being Tier 1 means you qualify for more resources from the Department of Commerce,” Flowers explained, pointing to building reuse programs, downtown economic development grants, and utility account funds designed to build local capacity. Flowers revealed that over the last five years, nearly 75% of North Carolina’s job announcements occurred in Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties, fueled by nearly a billion dollars in rural infrastructure investments since 2018.
Following the state perspective, a second panel moderated by senior reporter Paul Wolverton directly addressed Cumberland County’s localized economic friction. Wolverton introduced sobering benchmark data from 2024: while the national median household income stood at $80,734 and the state average was $72,388, Cumberland County lagged behind at $61,291, with the city of Fayetteville sitting at $58,407. Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin acknowledged that while Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) serves as a monumental $8.2 billion economic engine, local policy has historically accommodated the base rather than leveraging its full potential…