Business View Magazine | October 2020

244 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2020 we’re up and running, and aggressively going after new businesses. The county’s new economic development strategic plan, which will soon be released, will provide a clear vision and road plan to build a sustainable economic future for Nash County. Stretching out across the heart of North Carolina’s Piedmont, the Research Triangle is a metropolitan area with a population of about two million. Largely suburban in nature, it’s a unique area, in that rather than having one primary city at its center, the Triangle’s focus is split between Raleigh, the state capital, Durham, a former industrial center, and Chapel Hill, a prominent college town. The region derives its name from the major research universities in each of the Triangle’s three anchor cities, as well as the iconic office park – the largest, most prominent high-tech R&D campus in the U.S. – that sits between them. Created in 1959 by state and local governments, nearby universities, and local business interests, Research Triangle Park (RTP) is home to more than 300 companies (including GlaxoSmithKline and Cisco Systems) that collectively employ over 55,000 workers and 10,000 additional contractors. “We recently announced our membership with the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, which is now a 12-county, regional marketing group,” says Hagy. “Because of our proximity to the Triangle, that was one partner we were seeking, and a goal which we’ve now accomplished.” Nash County is also invested in further developing its existing working relationships with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the Department of Commerce, and local workforce development allies, Nash Community College, NC Works, Duke Energy, and CSX Railroad. As for the I-95, it’s one of the oldest routes of the Interstate Highway System, and the main Interstate Highway on the country’s east coast,