Media Links

Collected below are several links highlighting business events in Western North Carolina.

WRGC Radio YouTube Interview

This interview is from WRGC radio. Listen to learn more about why we’ve created the Got Your Back Business Summit for local business owners in WNC, happening on Tuesday, April 26th at The Paper Mill Lounge Pavilion in Sylva, NC. 
 
Interview by Roy Burnette, featuring Annie McCord Wilson and Elissa Hashemi on April 14th, 2022.

Sylva Herald News Article for our Got Your Back Training

The N.C. State Extension together with Western Carolina University, the Southwestern Commission and Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center, have worked through the CREATE BRIDGES-WNC initiative to design a free online course to help business owners in the Western North Carolina retail, hospitality, and tourism sectors, as they face staffing shortages and other challenges.

Sylva News Article for our WeSpeakWNC Workforce Conference

Small businesses in a four-county mountain area, including Jackson, will get a shot in the arm in February when a conference at Harrah’s brings a host of speakers and experiences.

WeSpeakWNC just launched and will soon put the rubber to the road with an event to benefit employers, current employees, job seekers and the region. The WeSpeakWNC Workforce conference is Feb 27 and 28 at the Cherokee Convention Center at Harrah’s.

Article from The Smoky Mountain Times about Create Bridges

Create Bridges is a pilot program funded by Walmart to strengthen retail, accommodations, tourism and entertainment businesses in rural areas. The Western North Carolina program is a partnership with NC State University and Mountain West Partnership.

Article from The Smoky Mountain Times about WeSpeakWNC

At the two-day WeSpeak WNC Workforce Conference at the Cherokee Convention Center, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said small businesses needed to be raised up and supported by community resources.

Per the conference website, the event was designed as “an opportunity for WNC businesses in the retail, hospitality, accommodation, tourism and entertainment sectors to connect with each other, with potential employees, and to resources available for them in our region.”

WNC Business Magazine Article

Create Bridges, a Wal-Mart funded initiative that began to help people in rural areas bounce back from Covid, helped Elissa Hashemi begin We Speak WNC.

The Southern Scoop article about the conference

The first-ever WeSpeakWNC Workforce Conference will be held on Monday, February 27th & Tuesday, February 28th at the Cherokee Convention Center at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Western North Carolina. 

This conference is an opportunity for WNC businesses in the retail, hospitality, accommodation, tourism, and entertainment sectors to connect with each other, with potential employees, and to resources available for them in our region. 

Mountain Xpress

NC State Extension together with Western Carolina University, Southwestern Commission, and SCC’s Small Business Center, have worked through the CREATE BRIDGES-WNC initiative to design a free online course to help business owners in the WNC retail, hospitality, and tourism sectors, as they face staffing shortages and other challenges.  This course, called the Got Your Back Academy, is a free opportunity for businesses to learn from industry experts in a user-friendly online format.

NC State Extension Website

WeSpeakWNC is an initiative in the Mountain West Region of North Carolina that launched as a result of the research and planning of the CREATE BRIDGES project. Its purpose is to connect business owners in the retail, hospitality, tourism, and entertainment sectors with each other, with resource providers, and with the regional labor pool.