GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – Several partners in Pitt County are celebrating economic development week. It’s about recognizing the contributions of local resources and how they work to grow our communities.

“It is really a lot of partners working in tandem and in collaboration to take Pitt County to the next level,” said Kelly Andrews, the Pitt County economic development director.

Representatives from several Pitt County organizations are sharing their expertise, and they have a common goal to create a strong economic future for the region.

“Whether that’s infrastructure, making sure we can have a place for businesses to grow and for people to thrive here,” Andrews said.

One part of making sure people thrive is by creating a space where they want to spend time.

“People are moving to places because they want to live there first and they want things to do, things to see, and just a cool environment,” said Holly Garriott, executive director of Emerge Gallery and Art Center. “The arts do that, so we really need to invest more into our arts and cultural sector to attract people here and keep them here as well.”

It’s all about exposing people and industries to what the area has to offer. One way Greenville is doing that is with the Little League Softball World Series.

“You’re bringing in people who have been to Greenville and Pitt County for the first time and you’re bringing them to an event where they have high explore hours,” said Andrew Schmidt, the president and CEO of Visit Greenville, NC. “A lot of people are exploring what we have and they’re spending money as well.”

This exposure is creating opportunities for industries to grow.

“We have several projects that could be transformational for the region and we are working on those,” said President and CEO of Greenville-ENC Alliance, Josh Lewis. “Some of these are multi-years efforts, so they take some time. But we are working on site development and building, and on the attraction side of things to be more collaborative and looking to the future.”

On Wednesday, the Taskforce for Offshore Wind May 2023 Business Meeting will be at the ECU BLACKbox Theatre from 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. There will also be a Young Professionals Focus Group on Thursday.