At the recent North Carolina’s Northeast State of the Region event in Williamston, several notable speakers presented various topics of discussion pertaining to this area’s economic situation.
While all the topics were interesting and informative, the one area that made the most impact on me was the presentation given by Linda A. Carlisle, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, which has as its mission to enrich lives and communities.
Carlisle’s segment, Regional Tourism, caused me to reflect on the importance of the arts and culture in economic development.
Referred to by Carlisle as the Creative Industry, Arts and Culture directly impacts the quality of life (QOL) of a community. Wikipedia describes QOL as the general well-being of individuals and societies. QOL should not be confused with the concept of standard of living, which is based primarily on income.
Instead, QOL includes education, recreation and leisure time. The term QOL is also used by politicians and economists to measure the livability of a given location.
This livability ties in with Carlisle’s comments suggesting that QOL, via the arts and culture, is a feeder to industries a community is trying to attract. The better the QOL a community has, the better its chances of attracting new industry and jobs. Therefore, QOL, though different from, does promote increased standards of living.
The arts and culture collectively consist of art, music, literature and related intellectual activities.
Carlisle is working to communicate the impact these cultural resources have in attracting and retaining jobs, enhancing the education of children and life-long learners, and growing stronger communities.
Northeastern North Carolina abounds in potential for increasing and showcasing its arts and culture.
Buzzwords such as Heritage Tourism, Rural Historic Sites, Historical Albemarle Tour, Community Festivals, Federal Heritage Designations, U.S. 17 Heritage Corridor Tourism, Civil War Battle Sites and Reenactments, all should be studied, considered, and most importantly, utilized and supported.
As individuals, we can be a part of increasing our community’s QOL by supporting, participating in and discovering new areas of the arts and culture exclusive to our region.
We will all reap the benefits of attracting new jobs and tourism, along with the intellectual fulfillments provide by the arts and culture.
Church E. Modlin Jr.
Tarboro
Opinion
Economic dividends of the arts and culture
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
- Opinion
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To The Editor
To the Editor:
A recent news story about the Montford Marines honors the important and too-often forgotten group of men. However, some of the statements in the story were wrong and need correction. -
Happening a special event
My first Happening on the Common was one to remember, perhaps in part because it included a wide variety of music, arts and crafts and food.
And while you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking if someone liked either music or arts and crafts, there is no such uncertainty when it comes to food.
My favorite of the day was from the Hispanic Youth Group from Tarboro’s First Baptist Church. Their tamales were, as the Campbell Soup Kids used to say, “umm, umm. good!” -
A thief at large
To the Editor:
A glorious day was marred by a pickpocket, stealing from an eldery lady enjoying the day at the Happening on the Common on Saturday. -
Arts Council does many things for community
Happening on the Common, which offered the opportunity for a day filled with leisurely entertainment, didn’t just happen.
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Remembering Betty Perrin NeSmith
Betty Perrin NeSmith was a force of nature. I hate the past tense, but it's the grammar we use when someone dies‚ Im just not sure it's the grammar Betty would use when thinking about death. She is moving on, with things to do. She was looking for a higher plane even while grounded on this earth, and I'm happy to think of her still searching out there in the other worlds.
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A great example of poor judgment
TO THE EDITOR: I was having breakfast at a restaurant last week when I was asked, What do you think of the new police chief selection? I responded with, Who did they choose? Thats when I was given the devastating news it wasn't one of our own.
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Did you ever lose your vehicle?
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a parking lot, knowing in yiour heart that you remembered where you parked but faced with the realization that you didn’t?
I think many of us have been down that path, sheepishly realizing that the reason your automatic door opener isn’t working is because it’s not your vehicle.
Then, sheepishly, we walk away and begin our wandering and wondering as we try to find our wheels. -
Economic growth a must
I give credit to Rich Karlgaard, a regular contributor to Forbes magazine, for many of the statistics I use in this column.
As we all know our economy is extremely sluggish to put it mildly. It’s just growing at somewhere between 1 percent and 2 percent and at this rate the economy can only get worse. In comparison, our economy has grown, on average, at a rate of 3.3 percent since the end of World War II. And even during this time frame we had two big recessions. -
Rest of week just gets busier here in Tarboro
Just the other day, as the community was making final preparations for Relay for Life, we heard someone complaining about how there is “never anything to do around here.”
We beg to differ. -
And we continue to walk ...
As a cancer survivor — and on behalf of other cancer survivors — thank you to everyone who has taken even the most minute role in the Relay for Life effort.
That effort continues this week when the Rocky Hock Opry rolls into town for a couple of Saturday performances at Edgecombe Community College.
Please, continue your support. - More Opinion Headlines
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To The Editor

