The North Carolina Economic Development Association honored its top achievers at its annual conference last month in Wilmington. The award winners, representing both big cities and small towns, helped arrange significant deals that brought jobs and investments to their communities.
PRESIDENT’S AWARD
Donny Hicks graduated from UNC Charlotte in 1983 with a degree in political science. The next year, while working on a master’s degree in public administration from UNC Chapel Hill, Hicks joined Gaston County Economic Development. He was promoted to the director’s job the following year, and continues to help bring jobs and investment to the county just west of Charlotte.
“Eventually I’m going to want to do something else, but right now I couldn’t be happier,” says Hicks, a two-time winner of the association’s economic developer of the year award. It helps that Gaston County is in higher demand by industry than at any time in the past 39 years, he says.
This year, Hicks received the President’s Award, given at the discretion of the group’s president, Chris Platé, who is executive director of Monroe-Union County Economic Development.
“There are only a few people in our business who deserve to be on the Mount Rushmore of economic development, and Donny’s body of work over the years makes him one of them,” says Platé. “It’s one thing to be successful in the easiest of times, it’s another thing to be successful in the difficult times.”
Hicks’ late father, Gary Hicks, was Gastonia’s longtime city manager. Historically, Gaston County’s economy was centered on textiles, which had peak employment there in 1970. By 1980, the U.S. industry was in a steady decline due to lower-cost imports.
“It was about coming to a place that was in transition and creating a new economy,” says Hicks on his decision to work in Gaston.
“We’d be lost without him,” says Gaston County Commission Chair Chad Brown, who’s been in office 13 years. “He’s the one who has helped shape this county into what it is today. He understands what it takes and his staff is second to none.”
Gaston’s recent successes have included CaroMont Health’s plans to invest $325 million, much of it for a new hospital opening in 2024 in Belmont. Gastonia built a downtown stadium, which attracted a independent league baseball team.
Gaston County has seen 5 million square feet of industrial space built in the past two years, and expects the same amount to be built in the next two years. A total of 7 million square feet of industrial space was built during Hicks’ first 37 years. Companies adding industrial space include Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service.
Hicks’ work ethic and skills of persuasion for attracting prospective companies have led to growth in Gaston County, says Grant Miller, a senior vice president for Colliers International. He notes that economic development has transitioned from collecting census data at a library to accessing information online.
“Donny Hicks gets it and he understands what needs to be done and he’s willing to roll up his sleeves and do the work,” says Miller.
Hicks chairs the North Carolina Community College Foundation, which promotes workforce development. He is a past president of the N.C. EDA. He’s an advocate for working with potential competing counties while remaining loyal to Gaston County, says Platé.
“He’s the multi-tool of economic developers. He can do anything and everything he does, he does well.”
https://businessnc.com/top-achievers-honored-by-the-n-c-economic-development-association/