Governor James E. Holshouser, Jr., has been involved in public service throughout his career as a lawyer dedicated to his clientele, a state representative, Governor from 1973 to 1977, and by service in numerous public and private sector boards, such as the UNC Board of Governors. During his tenure as Governor, North Carolina saw a number of economic development “firsts”, to include the first North Carolina overseas recruitment office in Germany and the first time this state had total new investment to surpass one billion dollars. He has guided and participated in policy matters related to economic development initiatives from local to the state level.
Expertise Built On Real-World Experience.
To understand the Sanford Holshouser difference, you need look no further than the resumes of our partners, each of whom has experience leading economic development organizations.
Local, regional and state levels? They’ve been there. Recruiting, BRE, workforce development, and site location? They’ve done that. Local government management, law, utilities, marketing, and economic analysis? They’ve done that as well.
Frankly, few firms can match our level of real world experience. And most importantly, all Sanford Holshouser projects are managed by the partners themselves, never delegated to junior associates or interns.
Ernest C. Pearson has served both in the private practice of law and in public policy positions. He served as Assistant Secretary for Economic Development of the NC Department of Commerce. He managed economic development programs, including industrial recruitment, international trade, small business development, tourism, film industry recruitment, and finance programs for industry. Since returning to the private sector in 1993, his law practice has focused on economic development matters, representing numerous local jurisdictions in economic development projects and companies in site selection projects.
Robert F. Comer has developed strategic action plans, organizational restructuring and privatization, marketing plans, personnel policies and funding campaigns for several local and regional economic development organizations in North Carolina. A local developer for 15 years and a pioneer in regional economic development, Bob most recently was chairman of Piedmont Triad’s regional economic development Foundation. A retired US Navy Captain, Bob graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and has a Master Degree equivalent from the US Naval War College. He is an officer in the NC Association of Community College Trustees.
Crystal P. Morphis, CEcD, has over 15 years of economic development experience. She has expertise in developing industrial parks, site certification, marketing, existing business program development, strategic planning, private sector fundraising, executive searches and research for economic development. She is Chair of the Advisory Board for NC State University’s Industrial Extension Service and is an instructor at the UNC-Chapel Hill Basic ED Course. Crystal holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Salem College and a Master of Science in Economics from UNC-Charlotte. She has been designated a Certified Developer by IEDC.
L. Calvin “Rocky” Lane, Jr., has over 13 years experience as a local economic developer and 15 years in workforce development. During that tenure, he was responsible for developing a fully serviced industrial park, a shell building, two NCDOC Certified Sites, an award winning marketing program, and the successful recruitment of 17 new companies and numerous expansions representing over $1.5 billion in new investment and over 2000 new jobs. Rocky served in various positions with Halifax Community College for over 13 years, the last three as Dean of Continuing Education. He holds Bachelor and Master Degrees from N.C. State University.
Michael K. Geouge, CEcD, has over 37-years of economic development and city planning experience. He has been manager of Economic Development for Duke Power/Nantahala Power, manager of the western regional office of the North Carolina Department of Commerce and has 15-years experience as a city planner and/or planning director with the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi. He has participated in over 300 industrial client visits and in nearly 100 industrial client announced locations. He earned a Bachelor of Science in urban geography from East Tennessee State University. He is a Certified Developer.
Robert S. De Mauri, AICP, has more than thirty-five years of experience in economic and community development. He has held positions with local and state governments as well as in the private sector and was Director of the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development in the Charlottesville, Virginia region. His experience includes preparing economic development strategies, marketing plans and local land use plans and ordinances. He has also worked with companies to provide site location assistance while evaluating the competitive advantages of communities. He earned a Bachelor of City Planning from the University of Virginia.