Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/656512
MARCH 23-29, 2016 UCW 9 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Passions are running high on what would create jobs in Fayetteville and would help diversify the local economy. Elected officials push for investment in the community through parks and recre- ation, favorable tax rates and other infrastructure that provides good "quality of life." The Chamber pins its hopes on supporting and strengthening small business ties with Fort Bragg, attracting entrepreneurs in tech and robotics from the pool of retiring military and from Department of Defense contractors to settle in the community. The new Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation is still in the formation stages and has not yet made its strategy public. The Downtown Alliance hope to capitalize on the historic and quaint downtown coupled with festivals and events to convince new businesses that this is a great loca- tion to grow a business. Of course there are the myriad of support agencies and educational institutions that offer training for the work place of today. But the bottom line is "only employers create jobs" and the old adage is to be an employer you have to: 1. Grow something 2. Build something 3. Make something 4. Have someplace that someone wants to visit. Or some version of the above. It is time to stop the "lip service" and "gut check" just how serious this community is on "diversification" of the economy and can it deliver on employment not related to Fort Bragg and support activities. Fort Bragg may be nudging us to get a little more imaginative on leveraging oppor- tunities not directly related to the installation. In case you haven't noticed, Fort Bragg is becoming a city unto itself partly due to security and certainly because of the age of the troops here for training. We have also been put on notice of reduction in the size of the military and the reorganization of many of the units that were always a part of the Bragg mission. There will always be a need for Fayetteville, Spring Lake and all the surrounding towns but new restaurants, a theatre complex, a commissary selling local produce, great labels in the PX and on-post housing available to retired military and reserv- ists on active duty at Fort Bragg makes a trip downtown a little less appealing. Now a temporary ballpark is being built to accommodate a professional baseball game that will not be open to civilians not carrying a Department of Defense identification card. So the challenge is on. What are our local assets that diversify our employer base and still leverage our role as a traditional military community? We certainly have a burgeoning health and medical services industry —a new VA facility, regional hospitals and specialized practices that draw employees from the physician assistant program, nursing, rehab specialists and other medical occupa- tions offered by Methodist University, Fayetteville Technical Community College and Fayetteville State University. The Baby Boomers have turned 70 and it is not only the military retiring. The one thing retirees have in common is they are looking for affordable living includ- ing housing, available health services, social, cultural and educational opportunities. Fayetteville may be rough around the edges but it certainly can provide all of the above. It should not be overlooked that retirees are often more affluent and drive and support both businesses and cultural opportunities that meet their demand. Retirees as a "demographic" should not be overlooked as a huge employer. Finally, my personal soap box. Fayetteville is a place to visit — a great place with wonderful events and festivals, the Botanical Garden and the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, historic sites, great theatres, restaurants and concerts. It can be a destination for Revolutionary and Civil War scholars, a "genealogical must" for Scot- tish and French descendants and visitors who would immerse themselves in ethnic diversity. There is a wonderful Rodin exhibition at Methodist, a historic walking tour of the downtown gathering dust on the shelf, the Woman's Club's Heritage Square to renovate and shimmering in the future a ballpark complex where teams could come to Fayetteville to complete with 112 teams at Fort Bragg and ride Menno Pennick's trolleNorth Carolina Champs Elysses. We have what it takes to reinvent ourselves and capitalize on all the abundance that is right in front of us. The question is: Do we have the cooperation that comes from community spirit? Do we have the determination to over- come selfishness and reach out to each other to build something together? Do we still have a dream? Fayetteville: Do We Still Have a Dream? by SHARON VALENTINE left to right Jada Michelle Thomas Junior Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Taylor Nicole Bridges Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Kaitlyn Brooke McCall Teen Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Caroline Nicole Gillis Young Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is awarded $1,000 Cash Scholarship, provided by Fayetteville Area Hospitality Association. Scholarships through Methodist University, FTCC & Fayetteville State University. ENTER TODAY! Applications online FayDogwoodFestival.com For more information call: 818.5502 • 978.7702 • 476.7040 Taylor Nicole Bridges Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Saturday, April 9, 2016 7p.m. at the Ages 6-22 • Four Divisions DEADLINE TO ENTER IS MARCH 28 SHARON VALENTINE. Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200.