HAMLET – Congressman Larry Kissell (NC-08) hosted a regional economic summit for Anson, Montgomery, Richmond and Scotland counties Tuesday morning at Richmond Community College's Cole Auditorium.

Business and community leaders from across the region were on hand to discuss ways to enhance regional partnerships across the four counties which suffer from some of the highest unemployment in the state. Representatives from the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the USDA were on hand. Incoming RCC President Dale McInnis moderated the meeting.

“We all know this region was suffering long before the recession hit the rest of the country. It is going to take all of our communities working together to tackle the economic crisis we face,” Kissell said. “I am hopeful that this meeting will lead to many positives for our communities as we move forward with developing a strategic regional plan.”

Kissell talked about how regional partnerships, as defined by the USDA, can be a cluster of counties such as Anson, Montgomery, Richmond and Scotland. He said the most important thing will be to get communities to inventory their assets and assess their needs.
Anson County was well represented by members of the Wadesboro Town Council and the Anson County Commission. Sheriff Tommy Allen was in attendance as well as Wadesboro Mayor Bill Thacker.
“This was a very informative meeting. We thank Mr. Kissell for hosting this meeting, and helping to generate some wonderful ideas on ways we can work together,” Thacker said. “We will certainly appreciate all the information, and hope we can get some this help to come our way.” 
Montgomery County was also well represented by mayors from Star, Candor and Biscoe as well as Montgomery County commissioners.

“This was so informative, and will be very helpful for small communities. It was wonderful thing to bring local, state and federal groups together,” Star Mayor Susan Eggleston said. “We see Larry Kissell as a lifeline to link our communities. We appreciate all he does for our communities like the event in December and today and letting us know about the possibilities. We will definitely continue to explore those possibilities.”

Candor Mayor Richard Britt attended the Laurinburg-Maxton Federal Resources Summit as well.

“It was a very good event, and it answered a lot of good questions. As a new mayor, it has helped me a lot. It given me a lot of good new resources,” Britt said. “We appreciate the opportunity that Congressman Kissell has given us with this event. We definitely appreciate all he has done for Montgomery County.”