Several times each year, NCGrowth hosts showcases in constituent communities across North and South Carolina to highlight its clients, recent projects and upcoming work. This June, due to COVID-19, NCGrowth’s most recent showcase took place over Zoom in the comfort of participants’ homes and businesses.
The event featured video presentations by NCGrowth clients, beginning with Steve Biggs and Robin Payne of Bertie County. Both serve on a team overseeing the development of Bertie Beach and the “Tall Glass of Water” (TGOW) Project. In 2016, the county purchased 147 acres of land, a quarter mile of which is beachfront, to help spur economic development as well as celebrate the region’s natural landscape and cultural heritage. Locals and tourists alike can participate in activities such as swimming, fishing, hiking, kayaking, canoeing and camping. The TGOW project team has involved locals and incorporated their feedback throughout the development process. Additionally, the TGOW project team hopes the completion of Interstate 87, which will cut through Bertie County, will attract additional tourists and further bolster economic development.
George Beatty, chair of N.C. Rice Festival, Inc., spoke about the rich, yet often forgotten, history of Black Americans in Southeastern North Carolina. The N.C. Rice Festival, held annually in Brunswick County, plays an active role in highlighting this history, as well as uplifting the region’s cultural heritage. In the near future, Beatty hopes the Rice Festival’s mission will be supplemented with investments into the Cedar Hill African American Park. Restoration of the historic Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery and reconstruction of the Rosenwald-Phoenix School, “shotgun” homes and historic Black entertainment venues will help educate visitors about the history of Brunswick County from Emancipation to the Civil Rights Act (1865-1964).
NCGrowth Analyst Rachel Taylor discussed her work on mapping Mitchell County’s outdoor recreation assets, businesses and future recreational locations. As a mountain community, Mitchell County has recreational assets such as parks, trails and camping sites that attract visitors from near and far. To enhance the economic impact and capture a larger share of investment from tourists, the county must connect businesses and other community stakeholders, as well as build upon existing recreational resources to build momentum for larger projects in the future.
Dr. Niels Lindquist, co-founder of Morehead City’s Sandbar Oyster Company, shared the importance of using oysters as a natural solution for protecting the shoreline, preventing erosion, and restoring salt and oyster marshes. Sandbar’s patent-pending biodegradable hardscapes made of mineral-based cement and plant fiber cloth preserve shorelines and ecosystems while increasing the supply of premium green gill oysters for consumers. Sandbar has filed patents in numerous countries and hopes their technology will replace destructive and ineffective bulkheads and seawalls, the current standard protection methods.
David Billstrom, CEO of Kitsbow Cycling Apparel, took showcase participants through a virtual tour of the company’s manufacturing site. For now, the company has shifted away from producing recreational apparel, in response to COVID-19. With large amounts of readily available cloth, Kitsbow’s sewers are now mass producing PPE masks. Kitsbow continues to make cycling apparel, but Billstrom sees the company continuing to make masks even after the pandemic ends.
Heather Hodges, executive director of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, closed out the presentation portion of the showcase. The Gullah Geechee Corridor, a National Heritage Area, extends from North Carolina to Florida. The commission works to preserve, share and uplift the history, cultural practices, heritage sites and natural resources associated with the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of enslaved Africans on plantations in the lower Atlantic throughout the corridor and beyond. The commission conducts various tours, education programs and other services, and continues to do so virtually. Hodges concluded with a video of Gail Smith, a member of the Gullah Geechee Nation, who shared her story and experiences of living in Savannah, Georgia.
For lunch, participants ate from home while Chef Sallie Ann Robinson, aka the Gullah Diva, demonstrated how to prepare a delicious shrimp and crabmeat pasta salad. Robinson, herself a sixth-generation Gullah and Native American from Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, discussed her upbringing and the role food plays in educating and preserving culture.
At the conclusion of lunch, KJ Kearney, a Charlestonian Gullah Geechee, reiterated the importance of food and culture. Kearney said that our food choices, where we purchase our food and what we do with our leftovers are all a form of political resistance activism. For example, many of our food choices today stem from black culture, but they are not credited appropriately. Kearney played a key role in getting the city of Charleston to create Red Rice Day, which recognizes Gullah Geechee culture and foodways; served as a Gullah foodways expert for the annual Charleston Food + Wine Festival; and has created Black Food Fridays to appropriately highlight Black businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The showcase ended with a brief panel session featuring the showcase participants and Dr. Emily Yeager, a professor at Eastern Carolina University. The panel provided a platform for participants to network and brainstorm, and allowed individuals to take ownership and represent their heritage and cultures.
To learn more about NCGrowth’s work, visit their website.
