The second annual Southeast Real Estate Expo, held in Greenville on May 6, 2026, saw the coming together of regional leaders, market researchers, and real estate professionals from across Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina state lines. David Dykes, the editor of Integrated Media Publishing's five regional magazines, asked a panel of experts a simple question: "Are we competing state by state, or operating as one integrated Southeast economy?" The ensuing conversation spurred discussion on regional interstate economic development strategy, infrastructure coordination, incentive competitiveness, and potentially where capital should be deployed next.
Integrated Media Publishing Editor David Dykes moderated the discussion. The panelists were:
Susie Shannon, president and CEO, South Carolina Council on Competitiveness
David Mildenberg, editor, Business North Carolina Magazine
Richard Blackwell, vice president of business development, Agracel
Laurie Prickett, senior vice president of economic development, Invest Atlanta
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
David Dykes, editor, Integrated Media Publishing: When you look across the Southeast today, where are the most important growth corridors emerging, and what's driving them? Susie, you want to start?
Susie Shannon, president and CEO, South Carolina Council on Competitiveness: There are some obvious (ones) ... we've got the I-77, I-20 corridor running (through) Augusta, Columbia, up to Charlotte. There's a lot of re-energized growth along that corridor. Certainly manufacturing, with the Midlands recently anchored by the Scout announcement. If you look down into Augusta, we've got a lot of cybersecurity, a lot of defense. Defense security is obviously a big issue today. And then running up to Charlotte with finance, with services. I think, with respect to emerging, still touching all three states, (it's) the coastal corridor. I think it just doesn't get hyped enough. Certainly it's an attractive place for people to live, for people to visit, but it's also becoming re-energized with industrial growth, particularly around technology, cybersecurity, manufacturing. You can really see that kind of fringe. And then, of course, we've got a lot of port-adjacent industrialization that's taking place from Savannah all the way up that Eastern Seaboard component. So, a lot of opportunity in that area that's coming.
David Mildenberg, editor, Business North Carolina Magazine: Susie mentioned clusters as a key part of her work, and that's what I've (heard) in preparing for this. Talking to economic development folks, that's probably the No. 2 key thing they mentioned. And North Carolina really is benefiting right now from Charlotte accelerating its finance business, because it's been a big cat in banking for 30-40 years because of BofA, Wells Fargo, First Union, Wachovia, (with) BofA and Wells Fargo being two of the biggest banks in the country. Huge, 40-50,000 employees, even today, but in the last three years there's just been a big run-up in the number of huge global firms that are expanding into Charlotte, adding as many as 2,000 jobs, like Sumitomo, (and) Mitsui Bank is planning to. There's half a dozen others: Capital Group, Pacific Mutual, DFA was an early leader. So, huge. People talk about Charlotte being a finance center. It is really hitting its stride right now.
Second is the pharma cluster in Research Triangle east into Greenville, North Carolina. And again, constant growth right now there, it's just remarkable. I've talked to a guy who ran a drug plant (about what's driving that growth), and he said: workforce development. North Carolina has really done the best job in the country of getting the workforce prepared for people to come in and work at these pharma plants that are getting billion-dollar-plus investments from Novartis, Lilly, Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, all just within an 80-mile radius of eastern North Carolina. We can talk about the rural, other, less publicized areas later.
Richard Blackwell, vice president of business development, Agracel: When I think of emerging, we (Agracel) concentrate on areas outside of the metro. So, when you think of where you're sitting right now, I challenge you to think roughly an hour outside of where you're sitting. The Anderson, the Oconee counties of Upstate South Carolina are blossoming, blooming. That's the next big wave of industrial growth here in the Upstate. Same thing in Cherokee. No offense to my friends in Cherokee County, but they're a little tapped out on workforce as you get south of Charlotte, and also north of Spartanburg. But I would pay attention to the areas outside the major metros. You touched on Augusta. That's a great market. Also, north of Savannah, and southern Georgia doesn't get enough love, but there's a lot of activity when you think of manufacturing. And everybody wants jobs, but jobs got to have a place to go sleep at night. So, the things that come with job growth are going to follow these big growth corridors.
The other one I would mention real quick is where the inland ports are. Pay attention to Gainesville, Georgia, with that new inland port coming online. Same thing in Dalton. Those are going to be huge for the state of Georgia. But also, when you think of inland ports, we're blessed with the Dillon and the Greer here in South Carolina. Those are great corridors along with Virginia. You know, the Wytheville area is going to get an inland port as well. So pay attention to those areas, because those are certainly emerging.
Laurie Prickett, senior vice president of economic development, Invest Atlanta: How critical is infrastructure — roads, ports, broadband — in determining (where) the next corridor emerges? Well, infrastructure is often the deciding factor in what turns potential into reality. In Atlanta, investments like the Atlanta Beltline are reshaping how corridors grow by linking land use, transit, and community development, while MARTA and GDOT continue to strengthen regional connectivity across road and rail, making it easy for business places to access talent and move goods efficiently. What's becoming clear is the next corridors will be defined by how well infrastructure systems work together. So, that's the physical and the digital, where transit like MARTA, state-led investments through GDOT, and catalytic projects like the Beltline align. It creates a seamless environment for growth that benefits not just Atlanta but the broader Southeast region.
Dykes: Are we seeing true regional collaboration across state lines, or is it still primarily a competition for jobs and investments? Richard, I'll start with you.
Blackwell: I think the easy answer is, not really, or not enough. Every politician runs on "jobs, jobs, jobs," so there is that competition between South Carolina and North Carolina, even though things that are happening in Charlotte, South Charlotte, Lancaster, Rock Hill, they all feed off each other and celebrate the successes of that quasi-region. But it's still a competition at the end of the day. We want as much job growth as we can get here in South Carolina, but so does everybody else in Georgia as well. I wish that there were more partnerships, because growth doesn't end at the end of a county line, or the end of a road, or a sewer pipe. So, I wish there was more collaboration, because things that are happening here in Greenville, it affects Oconee County. What's happening in Oconee County affects Northeast Georgia, but nobody's really talking about it, or at least not enough.
Dykes: Dave Mildenberg and I worked together many years ago, at the Charlotte Observer. We talked then, and I assume we can talk again now, about the I-85 corridor going from Raleigh to Atlanta. That would be one corridor. I'm not sure it's developed exactly the way it was designed, but Dave, I'll ask you how that's going.
Mildenberg: Well, I think you mean, are they collaborating? ... The top economic development official in our state said, other than marketing, no, everybody fights. He relies on the county commission board chair and the mayors, and they want the jobs. It's a really key issue for North Carolina in the Charlotte area because of York County being essentially part of Charlotte. Nobody in Charlotte really looks at York County as not a part of Charlotte anymore. The probably richest guy in the area runs Red Ventures, which is in Indian Land, and Asheville-Spartanburg, Asheville-Greenville-Spartanburg, there's certainly competition there. Less so for the Raleigh Triangle area, where there is not as much. As someone who's lived in and out of the Carolinas for three to four decades now, it's amazing when you drive from Charlotte to Greenville, (there) used to be pretty, beautiful trees. Now it's a bunch of nice warehouses that Crow Holdings has. And it's so obvious where the I-84 corridor is, it's the rock star of American capitalism of the last 25 years.
Shannon: I want to take a hot minute on the collaborative, regional footprint. Certainly we've got enlightened self-interest and competition when we're going after projects, particularly the mega projects. But I think we're starting to see some fruits of the … maybe sort of torturous decades of cross-state collaboration and work. For instance, many years ago, the CSRA, the Central Savannah River Alliance, really was where Georgia and South Carolina banded together to try to save Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, from closing down. What you've been able to see through that, particularly with U.S. Army Signal Command and Cyber Command moving into Fort Gordon, you're seeing a lot of spillover on the South Carolina side of the border with uniformed personnel, civilian personnel, and defense contractors. So you're really seeing, at least in those regional, maybe micro-regional footprints, some really close collaboration, not just with York and Charlotte, but also North Augusta and Aiken spilling over into the Augusta region.
I'd be remiss if I did not tell you that South Carolina and Georgia joined together to become a federally designated EDA tech hub. It's labeled SC Nexus. Yes, it has S.C. in the name, but it is inclusive of just over the border into Georgia … that's where it's hyper-focused on advanced energy, but, doing a lot of testbeds, also innovation exchanges, as well as workforce training. But it's really hyper-focused on battery, particularly battery storage. So, think (about the possible battery) inside of a small modular nuclear reactor, in order to power up all these energy needs that we have.
Mildenberg: Well, that was, for me, really informative and great to hear. But journalists, we're looking for the jobs. And I think the case of Scout Motors is a fascinating corollary to what you're talking about David, because everybody knows that this VW subsidiary has this beautiful, massive plant going up north of Columbia. And logic would tell you the honchos running that plant would want to be in Columbia. Well, their 1,200 jobs are now pledged in Charlotte in a residential neighborhood that doesn't usually get that kind of commercial development. Charlotte is welcoming with open arms, and I look at that two ways.
One, collaboration between the two states, great. Columbia's winning, Charlotte's winning. Another way to look at it, if I'm from South Carolina, being a journalist, thinking, hey, what the heck? It's like the honchos decided, "I can get talent better in Charlotte 'cause the 20-, 30-, 40-somethings who have a lot of tech skills, they want to be in Charlotte more than they want to be in Columbia." I don't know if that's true. Columbia's a great city.
Dykes: Thank you, Dave. Richard?
Blackwell: I'm more on the "what the heck" side of that equation, with Scout putting their headquarters in Charlotte after us South Carolinians gave a billion dollars — billion with a "B" — in subsidies to make that plant come to life. But, that just goes back to competition. Obviously the state of North Carolina offered a sweeter deal. And I understand all the factors that go into it … international flights, (and) yes, there's a workforce component of it, but somebody fell asleep at the wheel.
Shannon: Well, I will say, and I live in Columbia, I actually am not too far from where the Scout complex is being developed. And they did just recently open up their $25 million workforce training facility, working really, really closely with our local technical college there. So, I think we're really going to see some world-class workforce training be produced out of that. That's not just going to be confined into the Midlands area, but you're certainly going to see those benefits spread throughout the state, and spread throughout the region.
Prickett: (The question really is) ... how can the Southeast region work better together? Compete globally, but not with each other. I mean, align across states to jointly recruit major investments, positioning the Southeast as one big mega market with shared assets like ports, interstates, talent pipeline, rather than fragmented state-to-state competition. And then, build seamless regional infrastructure, you know, coordinate investments in transportation, logistics, and workforce development. Maybe some shared training programs or credential alignments so companies can scale across the region without friction. Those are just a few ideas.
The reality is, we all have our regions that we promote, but at the end of the day, we all align on the same thing, that we want to ensure growth and we want to ensure our communities are being served.
Dykes: Susie, let me follow up and ask you, what micro trends: population migration, infrastructure funding, corporate relocation, are having the biggest impact right now?
Shannon: I want to focus on ... population centroids. South Carolina in particular is the fastest-growing state in the fastest-growing region of the Southeast in the country. What I think is really telling is that even if you don't live in South Carolina, even if you are not sited within South Carolina, you can … sit in Columbia, an hour and a half or so away (from here), and within eight hours, reach the greatest number of people in the country, only overcome by Florida. And we're not going to count Florida, because some of you may say, well, Florida's not really in the Southeast, right? ... But when you talk about … dropping a pin in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, you're reaching the greatest number of people in the country. That is access to workers, that's access to customers, that's access to markets. And that's why I think the Southeast is really blessed to have the internet connectivity that we do, and the cross-collaboration and workforce training that is present here that I think really you don't see as well across the country.
Prickett: (Well) our talent pipelines (are helping us) keep up with the speed of development across the Southeast and Atlanta. We're making strong progress in Atlanta, but the pace of development is pushing all of us to move a lot faster. I'm sure all my colleagues on the panel can say that. The strength of our higher education ecosystem from Georgia Tech to the Atlanta University Center gives us a solid foundation, especially in tech and innovation talent. Where we're really focused is on alignment, bringing together employers, training providers, workforce systems to ensure skills match real-time industry needs, particularly in the sectors like logistics, tech, and advanced manufacturing.
I'll give you an example of this. So, the state was absolutely incredible with supporting Hyundai and their robotics division. And for us, this was using the Atlanta Technical College to create curated curriculum for the next generation, supplying Hyundai with the skills and the people that they need to succeed. That was where the public and the private met to really drive the need and support each other.
Dykes: Dave, biggest impact right now with micro trends?
Mildenberg: Well, I think workforce development is understated. ... Because I had the privilege of being on a university board for four years at UNC Charlotte, I saw the importance of investment in higher-ed (up-close) … Clemson is obviously critical to this area. I think North Carolina has scored so heavily because of its effective 58 community college systems, and they run on a much more efficient basis than our 16-campus university system. So, I think workforce development is an undersold issue. I want to get into the AI issue too, because that's overwhelming the whole economic development world, but, that's something mentioned here earlier.
Prickett: One area Atlanta is particularly bullish on is applied AI and fintech, building on its strengths as a global payments hub and layering in next-generation technologies that are transforming industries from finance to logistics.
Dykes: Richard, the biggest impact trends?
Blackwell: I'm on the industrial side, and the trends that we're seeing (are) infrastructure and quality of life. A lot of these manufacturing decisions are following "where's the infrastructure," whether it is a data center for AI purposes … they need a lot of kilowatts. Or it could be sewer capacities, water capacities, or just people. So they're following "where is the infrastructure," along with, I would say, quality of life. Again, we're outside the metros predominantly. We've got a spec building in Hampton County, South Carolina, just north of Hilton Head. We lost a project recently to Charleston, even though Charleston is about two times the cost of where we're located, but it doesn't matter, because they are focused on quality of life factors that are a little different than Hampton County, South Carolina. So we're seeing, again, quality of life becoming a big component of the location decision because people want to live in cool places, along with infrastructure as becoming more and more of a top concern.
Mildenberg: Yeah, (as) I mentioned, infrastructure … roads are so important. Fascinating story in Charlotte, because … you all have been down, coming through 77, going, you see the Uptown on your right? The state wants to expand that with a public-private partnership, a $2-$3 billion project. The state's willing to put in $600 million. Everybody thought it was going through, and all of a sudden massive local opposition raised up, and now the Charlotte City Council is doing everything it can to put brakes on that. And, you know, very bad congestion coming through there. Anybody who's ever been there knows that. But the debate has slowed this down. Big NIMBY issue. Roads are going to be critical, obviously, to keep these major metro areas growing. And hopefully South Carolina has it figured out. Georgia has (it) figured out better than North Carolina does, because right now it's quite a mess.
Blackwell: And I would agree with that. … I know we're supposed to be positive here, but the anti-growth mentality is just mind-boggling. So, been doing this for about 20 years now. I'm a native of Greenville. I grew up 10 minutes down the road. I remember, you didn't come to downtown Greenville, especially in the evening time, but here we are. People forget how we got here. People come from all across the nation to learn, "How did Greenville do it?" Well, Greenville's story of downtown redevelopment started in the 1960s. It's about investing in yourselves and making those investments over time on special projects. But now, here we are. We've been very blessed in the state of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, the list goes on, of winning projects, winning deals. But now people don't want what follows winning projects and winning deals, with commercial growth, with residential growth. And now there's this huge anti-growth mentality.
I was sharing earlier with Susie that just where I live in Oconee County, they're proposing an eight-month moratorium on housing development. Eight months. And people in this room have to start becoming a little more vocal about … yes, we want to be smart about the investments. Yes, we want to be smart about spending money on whatever it may be, but we can't stop growing. Everybody has watered a plant before. When you stop watering the plant and feeding the plant, it dies. And nobody wants the future of South Carolina or North Carolina or Georgia or New York to look bleak. We've got to get smarter and start working together, going back to collaboration, because the anti-growth mentality is winning the debate right now.
Dykes: Let me follow up, Richard. From a developer's perspective, what makes a corridor real versus hype? What metrics do you look for?
Blackwell: I mean, it's coming down to a little bit of feel. We drive those corridors and we talk to a lot of smart brokers about what's really happening. So it's a little bit more of understanding … being in the market, walking the market, driving the market, whatever the case may be. So we're looking at that, yes. We are looking at the numbers, you know, how is the absorption, what's the vacancy rate, what's being planned in those corridors. But then also, on the industrial side, where's the workforce going to come from? Is it an hour away? Because that may not work, because as soon as somebody gets offered a dollar more for the same job they're doing, they're going to leave. They're going to live closer and work closer to their house. So, it's all those factors, but I would say it's coming down a little bit more so to the actual feel of that corridor.
Dykes: David, let me follow up, too. From your reporting, what are the biggest misconceptions about growth in the Southeast?
Mildenberg: I think that gets to the data center debate, and I talked to a lawyer this morning who's worked for data center companies for 10 years, and he said that he thinks they've just done a horrible job of explaining the benefits versus the cost to the public. And he thinks it's mostly because they aren't being straightforward on "How much power do we really need" and "how much water do we really need." And they aren't sharing that in a very logical way, or specific way, (and) the public is saying, "Where are the answers here?" And so the counties in North Carolina are trying as fast as they can to put on moratoriums on data centers, which I think, to your point, it's critical for our future and our competitiveness with China, all the stuff Trump talks about all the time. That's a real key issue that I'd love to hear others speak to.
Prickett: (To pivot to the underdiscussed impact of global connection to local markets) Atlanta is about to host an amazing event called the World Cup, and we've got a really interesting perspective (on it) because we want to make sure that the world happens with us, not to us. You're probably thinking, "What has 1996 to this FIFA World Cup looked like?" So, 1996 Olympics taught Atlanta about the power of global visibility, but also, that legacy doesn't happen automatically. This time with FIFA, we're being much more intentional about translating this global moment into long-term economic impact, whether it's through supporting small businesses, driving foreign direct investment, or telling Atlanta's story to the world. We've also learned that mega events have to work for residents, not just visitors.
The approach now is so much more coordinated, thinking about housing, infrastructure, public safety, community benefit up front so that the World Cup leaves a stronger and more inclusive legacy than 1996. Even so, the city of Atlanta and the mayor created an entity called Showcase Atlanta, and this entity leverages major events and turns it into economic impact. So, once again, that's that intentionality behind it as well.
(Additionally to that end,) the airport is such a value-add to Atlanta's economic development. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is a global gateway. Linking Atlanta to major domestic and international markets is critical to our attraction of businesses, to our talent, to our foreign investment. It also anchors job creation and regional competitiveness, supporting logistics, tourism, and corporate expansion while reinforcing Atlanta's position as a leading hub for commerce in the Southeast, like the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. (GSP) has a strong foundation, especially with advanced manufacturing nearby, but the next step is maybe sharpening its role as a targeted economic driver, not just a regional airport. Hyperfocus on the industry alignment, strengthen international accessibility. How we've done it is by activating the airport as an economic development tool.
Shannon: Looking at a misconception, since nobody's talked about population growth today, and workforce … at least speaking to South Carolina, historically our labor force participation rate has not been where we would have wanted it. However, if you just look at over the past year, again, it's a one-year trend, "trend" does not necessarily mean it's going to be hanging around for much longer. However, when you look at the in-net migration of people who are moving into the Southeast, in particular, those already here in states that have workers (who) have worked for government, have worked for military bases, have worked for manufacturing, (all industries) where they tend to retire younger. So, they're actually getting back into the workforce. After they leave what they've been doing and exit, they're now saying, "I don't think I'm done yet, and I want to get back into the workforce." And that's good, because we've got jobs we need to fill. So I think at least temporarily, the misconception that people who are moving here are retirees, when people retire they don't want to stay in the workforce or get back in the workforce, that's sort of been unraveled over the past year. At least, that's what we're seeing from the trends. Hope it continues.
Dykes: Let me follow up and ask about incentives. Are they becoming less important compared to long-term fundamentals?
Prickett: (I mean,) what are companies prioritizing most right now when choosing where to locate? Cost, workforce, quality of life, or incentives? I think it's really a combination, but workforce continues to lead. Companies are prioritizing access to skilled, diverse talent, and just as importantly, the ability to attract and retain that talent, which brings the quality of life and affordability affordability into the equation. So, cost and incentives still matter, but they're more a differentiator than a driver. The markets that win are the ones that can offer a strong operating environment, connected infrastructure, and a compelling place for people to live and work, then use incentives strategically to help projects get across the line.
We've also learned the importance of being proactive, investing early in infrastructure, site readiness. That's a huge one for us. And talent pipeline, so you're prepared when opportunities come rather than reacting to it. And finally, growth has to be intentional. At Invest Atlanta and the city of Atlanta, we're all about intentional. Atlanta's experience shows that pairing economic development with housing, with mobility and community investment is critical, not just from for winning projects, but for sustaining growth in a way that works for residents and businesses alike.
Blackwell: Incentives are like icing on the cake. You still gotta have a good cake at the end of the day. They do factor in, and they matter, but, it's more so … does the site or the building have the infrastructure that I need to be operational in a hurry because I need to make money? Yes, incentives help in reducing my tax payment or kilowatt payment, whatever the case may be. So incentives are nice, but it comes down to more of those other location decisions that are really guiding the discussion right now. And I go back to quality of life as factoring into it. Incentives help, and incentives, that's where you see the battle between the states, between the communities and the cities, but it goes back to some of those other fundamentals.
Mildenberg: That's a very insightful and helpful answer. … One of the few benefits of age is, we've seen some of these trends. An interesting story is how North Carolina wasn't competitive with South Carolina in attracting big auto plants and other major manufacturing facilities. Alabama (and) other states were much more aggressive. So finally, 10 years ago, Phil Berger, head of the Senate in North Carolina, pretty much caved in terms of saying, "We can't just rely on our RTP GDP being great, etc." So they've now upped the ante and become very competitive on the incentive side. But the second, more interesting current issue, is the debate within North Carolina about how much should corporate income tax be, and that the Senate, more conservative, dominated by Republicans, is pushing to eliminate corporate income tax, or cut it very quickly over the next few years. And the House, very conservative GOP leaders, are pushing back saying, no, we've cut taxes enough, we need to delay that. That has delayed the budget compromise in our state legislature, the last state in the country to have a completed budget. And so the incentives issue, it crosses partisan lines, and it's an important factor that's more important than "icing on the cake."
Blackwell: People need to remember that, just because a company is given incentives, they still pay taxes. Going back to misconceptions, there's misconceptions amongst some out there that, "Oh, we gave this property tax abatement to this company, they don't pay any taxes." That is so not true.
Shannon: I think maybe where, historically, we've had just a general kind of blanket suite or portfolio of exemptions, you know, to "track the big buffalo," so tied to CapEx, tied to the number of jobs ... I think you're going to see maybe more targeted or niche types of incentives, either for or against. For instance, as we continue to attract, let's say, life sciences industry, medtech, biotech, medical device, you may not have as many jobs, but you will have a lot of investment. And those are very attractive investments. We do see that growing, particularly with the double whammy of population growth plus population aging. So I think it's going to be a little bit more targeted there and change up a bit. And then on the flip side, you may see where we don't want this particular industry sector or subtype in, so we're going to be a little more targeted in restricting or even prohibiting that type of inducement.
Richard, you used the cake analogy. I love food and beverage, and so to me, incentives are like a casserole, right? You're putting in all of those wonderful ingredients; skilled labor, workforce training, utility to scale, a pad-ready site, all of those things. And then incentives is like that crusty cheese sort of topping, and then when you pull it out of the oven, it's just all nice and luscious.
Blackwell: And I do agree with you that the incentives, no matter where you live, whether it's this state or another state, we do need to get more targeted, more creative. Yes, the days of "buffalo hunting" are not over, but those are far and few between, and we need to figure out ways to support more small business growth, more entrepreneurial growth. We need to create our own and keep it here, along with, at least in South Carolina, more office and headquarter recruitment.
Dykes: Let me close by asking each of you: What one bold prediction would you have about development in the Southeast? Richard, you've got the mic.
Blackwell: Bold development is still coming. Whether we try to stop the train, the train is still coming down the tracks. And it's because we're blessed by one of the best places in the entire United States, if not the entire world, here in the Southeast. We have very amazing, special places in the state of South Carolina that need to be kept special for future generations. So we need to have those discussions about growth, but growth is still going to come here. A lot of the things that the panel touched on today — we've got a great port infrastructure. Yes, our roads probably need to be expanded, but they're still good in their function. We're blessed by amazing areas around us, whether it's Savannah, Asheville, Greensboro, Raleigh — the list goes on and on. So growth is still coming. I don't know if that's a bold prediction. You're going to see the inland ports being used more and more, and hopefully we get another one in another part of South Carolina, because those are going to be used more and more. I think vitality is the new constant in our lives. We live in strange times, and they're only going to get stranger and more volatile, and we've got to have more patience.
Mildenberg: I'm not the bold prediction guy here, but two things. One, I'd like to applaud Richard's point about the importance of jobs, because the cover story in the Wall Street Journal today is about how CEOs are trying to decide, well, what do I do on this AI stuff? Do I fire a bunch of people, or do I work with them? And that's, to me, the topic of the day because jobs … we used to applaud the creation of jobs. Now we applaud companies' stocks going up when they fire people. Stuff like that, it's of great importance too.
Blackwell: You mentioned Scout ... I think you're going to see growth leapfrog Laurens and go into Newberry. You're going to see growth continue to push into Anderson, Oconee County, Northeast Georgia, look out for Stephens County over there. So, there's a lot of good emerging markets. And again, growth, unfortunately, because we're not advocates of density, is continuing to push out, and it's putting more strain on our infrastructure. So again, I go back to everybody in this room, we need to start having some dialog, and be at the table, and talk about ways to grow smarter.
Prickett: One word to describe the next decade of growth (would be) "connected," because growth won't happen in silos. It's driven by how we connect talent to opportunity, infrastructure to development, and cities to each other across our regions. (Some) advice I'd give to South Carolina, the city of Greenville, to a state and a city that I absolutely love coming to visit? (I'd point to) one of the biggest lessons from Atlanta: the power of alignment. When the city, the state, and economic development partners and the private sector are moving in the same direction, you can compete and at a completely different level for investment in jobs.
Shannon: I would say looking ahead … we talk about soft skills, durable skills, industry success skills. A lot of those are inclusive of communication and teamwork and discipline and showing up for work on time, particularly in the age of technology and AI. But I think a new one to add to the ABC list is adaptability, so, getting back to the vitality and volatility. Being adaptable as employers, being adaptable as developers, being adaptable as workers, being adaptable as citizens. And so it's going to be, I think, some interesting times ahead, and fun to look forward to, at the end of day.
Dykes: Great. Thank you. Let's express our appreciation to the panelists this morning for their comments.
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