gratitude to the charlotte chamber of commerce for honoring me with its citizen of the carolinas award. i am indeed proud to consider myself a citizen of the carolinas and of the region. thank you very much. references employment security commission of north carolina ( 2007 ). “ employment and wages by industry, 1990 to most recent ”, www. ncesc. com / lmi / industry / industrymain. asp. hills, thomas d. ( 2007 ). “ the rise of southern banking and the disparities among the states following the southeastern regional banking compact ( 225 kb pdf ) ”, balance sheet, vol. 11, pp. 57 - 104, http : / / studentorgs. law. unc. edu / ncbank / balancesheet. north carolina community college system ( 2006 ). “ get the facts ”, press release, july 3, www. ncccs. cc. nc. us / news _ releases / getthefacts. htm. u. s. census bureau ( 2006 ). “ 2005 american community survey ”, www. census. gov / acs.

. some recent examples of emerging industrial operations across the state include primary metal manufacturing, machinery production, and the manufacture of nonwoven fabrics ( employment security commission of north carolina, 2007 ). that last category includes a remarkably wide variety of engineered fabrics, ranging from those used to make doctors ’ and nurses ’ operating - room garb to some used in roofing materials ; those products are especially interesting because they represent a small but fast - growing segment of specialty textiles within the broader textile industry. the transformation of this region has been aided by its reputation as a desirable location in which to live and work. census data and statistics from interstate moving companies indicate a heavy flow of people moving into charlotte from other states, including large numbers of educated workers. overall, the area has gained an average of 39, 000 net new residents every year since 1997. ( you probably feel that you see all those people every day in traffic. ) without a doubt, charlotte ’ s status as one of the preeminent financial centers of the country lies behind much of the inflow. importance of charlotte as a financial services center charlotte ’ s roots as a financial center stretch back two centuries. from 1800 to 1848, the city was the center of u. s. gold production, and a branch of the u. s. mint operated here from 1837 to 1913. more recently, north carolina ’ s legal framework has been important to the growth of the banking system. because the state had long allowed in - state branch banking, homegrown banks here had a head start when interstate banking became possible – first regionally, in the mid - 1980s, and then nationally with the 1994 passage of the riegle - neal interstate banking and branching efficiency act ( hills, 2007 ). north carolina ’ s early adoption of branch banking is a good example of a “ first mover ” gaining a strategic advantage. the banking statutes allowed banks in north carolina to become larger than their counterparts in other states and helped them develop expertise in running larger branch networks. the result has been a rapid increase in the size of banks located in the state : in 1970, only three banks from the entire south, including two from north carolina, were among the fifty largest u. s. banks ranked by assets, today, three of the top ten u. s. banks are headquartered in charlotte alone ( hills, 2007 ). one of the key advantages of charlotte and other metropolitan centers in north carolina has been the ability to attract and retain educated workers :