On a more positive note…

Hickory and the surrounding area is blessed with an abundance of gifts. While we are less than an hour from the Charlotte airport and situated at the crossroads of I-40 and US Highway 321, we are minutes away from incredible natural beauty.

Unlike many areas of the region, we have an abundance of clean water. That is both an opportunity and a responsibility. We need leaders that understand the benefits of promoting that water resource while protecting its quality and defending it from those water-short areas that will take our water for their own purposes if it is possible.

We have considerable room for business expansion capability in our highway, water, sewer and electric infrastructure.

We have a labor force that is both skilled and willing to work.

The total of those assets make us unique and there is no reason we shouldn’t thrive.

What we need is aggressive leadership that will turn those assets into jobs.