By Bobby Tingle

My wife and I raised five children. When our first arrived, we were proud parents and we seemed to be able to handle our new responsibilities pretty well. Our second put a little more strain on us. Not because she was harder to handle, but just because we now had two children to manage. With number three, we were outnumbered. By the time our other two became part of the family, you would have thought we had it all figured out. But it didn’t work that way. Each child was unique and each one presented a fresh set of challenges.

Constant change and adaptation became a part of our lives.

I took time this week to read articles published in The Orange Leader specifically about the Orange County Economic Development Corporation. My research reveals a struggle to manage the dynamic of this organization. I was prompted to do this research after hearing comments in the latest meeting of the City of Pinehurst Council. It seems action taken by the county and the City of Orange beginning in July brought this struggle to the surface. Some feel the EDC has done a poor job of communicating with their supporters. Others feel EDC efforts and communication are great but that inadequate funding has hampered their effort.

The Orange County Area Chamber of Commerce has expressed its desire to help in any way. In fact the desire to continue EDC efforts have prompted several extensions for funding. It seems there is a continuing desire to move forward with an organization whose purpose is economic development.

Meetings continue in an effort to determine how to move forward. Constant change and adaptation seems to have found its place in this struggle as well. Competition among supporters and the evolving economic environment make management of such a coordinated effort huge.

The good news here is that the struggle continues. The end result will certainly be much better than throwing in the towel.

Bobby Tingle is publisher of The Orange Leader. He can be reached at bobby.tingle@orangeleader.com