Ever wondered what the friendliest town in North Carolina is? It might just be right here in the Centralina region! The Town of Stanfield, located in Stanly County, is described on the community website as a “safe, peaceful town tucked away from the fast-paced hectic world.” You won’t find any fancy shops or stop lights, but you will encounter buildings with rich history and gracious locals who will be happy to show you around and make you feel right at home.

he National Association of Development Organization’s (NADO) Research Foundation’s Economic Development District Community of Practice (EDD CoP) recently launched an online resource called “Solving the Housing Puzzle: EDDs as Regional Housing Changemakers.” The report, which outlines the critical housing work carried out by development organizations to best meet various community needs across the country, includes various case studies, and we’re honored to say that Centralina’s work was highlighted as apart of a best practice case study, titled “Turning Voices into Action in the Centralina Region.”

Centralina Area Agency on Aging (AAA) strongly supports opportunities for professional development and continuing education to help each staff member grow in their roles and responsibilities and best serve residents and member communities throughout our region. This fall, AAA staff took part in three different training and certification opportunities to help increase knowledge and capacity in order to fulfill Centralina’s organization-wide mission to advance opportunity and improve quality of life for our region’s residents and communities.

2023 marks 55 years since the establishment of Centralina Regional Council. During this time, the organization has seen projects come and grow, but one thing that has remained the same is our core group of long-term employees, many of which have been with the organization for decades. So what is it that makes people stay? We sat down with some of our longest-standing staff members to understand why they’ve continued to work for our organization for so long, what makes Centralina special to them and some of their favorite moments.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the founding of Centralina Regional Council, formerly known as Centralina Council of Governments. Over the last five and a half decades, our organization has helped support the growth and prosperity of our region through various projects and initiatives. In honor of this historic year, we’re looking back at how our organization has evolved to where it is today.  

October 2023 marks the two-year anniversary of the adoption of the CONNECT Beyond Regional Mobility Plan. During this time, focus has been on the implementation of the plan’s key near-term recommendations. One of the most important and impactful recommendations is the development of a Regional Transportation Demand Management Plan and Program. Centralina is leading the effort on this recommendation.

On October 24, 2023, Centralina held a Centralina Learns session focused on the topic of Climate and Sustainability Planning. During this session, local government staff learned about strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting built environments to be more resilient and saw examples of what climate planning looks like in our region.

In response to the unique needs of smaller communities throughout the region, Centralina has launched a new member services initiative, Small Towns Thrive. This program provides direct technical services, education and peer learning opportunities for smaller municipalities

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. EPA is providing funding through a new initiative called the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. CPRG provides funding to assist state, local and tribal governments in the development of initiatives, plans and programs to reduce the release of greenhouse gases and related co-pollutants. This article details the two phases of the program’s process and how Centralina is working to meet necessary deadlines for grant implementation.

September was National Preparedness Month, the perfect time for Centralina Community Economic Development (CED) staff to travel to Anson County to collaborate on pre-disaster recovery planning. Centralina CED, Anson County Emergency Management, staff from various departments within Anson County and subject matter experts from Innovative Emergency Management partnered with critical private-public entities to learn about how they may collaboratively inform economic resilience for their communities.