RALEIGH -- The North Carolina Economic Development Board approved a 10-year strategic plan today that is designed to serve as a guide for economic growth and activities across the state “I want to thank John Lassiter, Jim Whitehurst and the rest of the Economic Development Board members for their hard work,” said Gov. Pat McCrory.

“I asked the board to come up with a strategic plan that will direct our efforts at the state level and enable our state and local leaders to coordinate efforts to create jobs and improve the lives of all North Carolinians.  We need to make the best use of our economic development resources as we continue our Carolina Comeback.”

The Economic Development Board has been meeting since July 2013 in various work groups to develop the strategic plan.   In addition, N.C. Commerce Secretary Decker conducted a Listening Tour across the state and gathered input from more than 2,000 economic development professionals, business leaders and citizens through surveys and town meetings.

‘What’s presented today is the outcome of six months of hard work by government and business leaders who were all working toward the same goal of improving our economy and creating jobs for North Carolinians,” said John Lassiter, Chair of the EDB and President of Carolina Legal Staffing. “I want to thank all of our board members and Commerce staff that worked so diligently on this important effort.”

“We appreciate the trust and confidence the governor placed in us when we began this process,” said Jim Whitehurst, Vice-Chair of EDB and CEO of Red Hat. “We’re honored to present this report today and know it will serve as a roadmap for all economic growth, job creation and other related activities moving forward for the next ten years.”