It has been another fast and furious month since our last meeting, beginning with the Global Education Seminar hosted by Forsyth Technical Community College immediately following our last Board meeting. I was pleased that several of you were able to participate in this conference and see the value of infusing all of our programs with a global perspective, thus further preparing our work force for competing in a global economy. That fast and furious pace has not been matched in the General Assembly. I have nothing to report since our meeting a month ago.
Hope springs eternal, however.
Maybe they'll finish up next week. At a Workforce Development Conference after our Board meeting, I had the first of several opportunities during the month to share the story of our great unmet needs, particularly in our challenge to attract and retain staff at current salaries and obtain adequate equipment and technology support. Several Workforce Development Commissioners who are outstanding business leaders from across the state spoke up very positively in response to my presentation. Similar opportunities presented themselves later in the month at the School Improvement Panel and at the Education Committee meeting of the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry. This week, I reported on our Strategic Planning Process and its use in developing our biennial budget at the Rural Economic Development Council on which I sit.