Kenny Hardin, Salisbury City Councilman
♦ I had a very productive 2 1/2 hour breakfast meeting this morning with James Meachem, Executive Director of the Rowan County Tourism and Visitors Bureau.
I enjoyed listening to his marketing vision for increasing growth and tourism for our area as well as current projects like a coming multimillion dollar motel.
I appreciated Mr. Meachem addressing the economic development questions I raised about downtown Salisbury over two months ago. He said there was no direct link or correlation to his office’s professional dealings and economic development or fighting societal ills for the remainder of the City outside of the downtown.
He did say that increased tourism, increased occupancy in hotels and bringing money making events to the City would enable him to offer financial resources to the City to use for economic development, to fight crime, etc. I appreciated his honesty in addressing the questions and not making assertions he couldn’t support.
He acknowledged that although he was a transplant to the area, he was very interested in understanding the operation, dynamics and nuances of the various communities that make up the City. He asked a lot of general interest questions and offered strategies and solutions to issues. At his request, we discussed how his office could assist in community development. In turn, I asked how the City could work collaboratively with him.
The County will be rolling out their new brand campaign in a few weeks and he invited me to the event as his guest. Time well spent this morning.
