Area Development, a leading magazine dedicated to economic development, has named North Carolina as a Platinum Shovel award recipient in the 8-12 million population category. This comes from the state’s continued success in economic development and job creation. Typically, the magazine only awards Gold and Silver Shovels; however, due to North Carolina’s many notable accomplishments over the past year, the Platinum Shovel award was created for the first time. In addition to North Carolina, Tennessee was also honored with a Platinum Shovel for the 5-8 million population category.
“When you look at the charts listing the top projects in North Carolina and Tennessee, you’ll notice lots and lots of digits. We’re talking projects with job counts in the four-digit range — and investments with 10-digit dollar figures, with billions here and billions there, billions all over. With news like that, it was clear that we’re going to need a bigger award — not just Gold, but Platinum,” wrote Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor at Area Development, in the 17 Annual Shovel Awards article.
One of the noted projects for North Carolina included the $1.5 million expansion of Verizon Authorized Retailer Victra in Pitt County. This project created nearly 600 new jobs in the community. To learn more about current career opportunities with Victra, visit the Victra careers page.
“It’s exciting to see that our state has earned the first-ever Platinum Shovel in economic development, but it’s even more exciting that a project in our community was specifically noted,” shared Uconda Dunn, vice president of development for the Greenville ENC Alliance. “Victra is an incredible asset to our region, and we are thrilled to see it noted as one of the top local economic development projects and job creation announcements in North Carolina during 2021.”
In previous years, North Carolina has received Gold and Silver Shovel awards. In 2020, North Carolina was awarded a Gold Shovel for the $500 million expansion of Thermo Fisher Scientific in Greenville that will create some 500 new jobs.
A full report on Area Development’s 17th Annual Shovel Awards is available on the Area Development website.
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Media Relations Contact:
Maria Satira Director of Marketing and Communications Greenville - Eastern North Carolina Alliance satira@encalliance.com 252-414-2875
