Well, so much for the retirement of former High Point Economic Development Corp. President Loren Hill …
He retired on January 1, 2021, and now he’s just started a new job. He did so on Monday, Feb. 1.
“My retirement lasted one month to the day,” Hill joked.
In his defense, even when he announced his coming retirement in mid-2019, he always acknowledged that he planned to stay involved with economic development in the area in some capacity. But it turns out he will remain an economic development player in a big way. The Piedmont Triad Partnership (PTP) has named Hill the Carolina Core regional economic development director.
A press release from the PTP states that Hill’s hiring is “an effort to further enhance regional collaboration and attract new jobs and investment to central North Carolina.”
During his 20 years with the High Point Economic Development Corp., Hill focused on bringing new business to that city and helping expand the businesses already there. Now Hill’s duties will cover a much larger area.
PTP President and CEO Stan Kelly said he was delighted about having Hill on the team.
“We are excited to officially add Loren Hill to the Carolina Core team to help further enhance regional collaboration to win new jobs and investment for our region,” Kelly stated in the press release. “As we emerge from the pandemic, it is more important than ever to amplify the strengths and opportunities of the Carolina Core regionally, statewide and globally. Given his extensive economic development career, leadership skills and relationships, Loren is perfectly suited to help us take the Carolina Core to the next level and win big.”
In his new role, Hill will be responsible for enhancing PTP’s collaborative efforts and also with “increasing visibility of the region and its globally competitive assets.”
He’ll work closely with the PTP board and staff, as well as with economic development and chamber of commerce leaders throughout the Carolina Core and North Carolina.
The Carolina Core area Hill will promote is a 120-mile stretch of central North Carolina from west of Winston-Salem to Fayetteville that encompases Greensboro and High Point. The Carolina Core is defined by “assets that make the region a globally competitive market – a smart and growing talent pool of more than 2 million people, access to 30+ colleges and universities with 250,000 students, multiple airports, four megasites totaling 7,200 acres of certified land, industrial and urban research parks and more.”
Hill’s regional economic development experience includes working with the Guilford County Economic Development Alliance from 2015 to 2020 – a collaborative effort between High Point, Greensboro and Guilford County to bring new business here. In recognition of his countywide efforts, Hill was named the recipient of the 2020 Stanley Frank Economic and Workforce Development Award by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce.
Hill is in great physical shape for his new job. He has been on a pandemic walking spree for the last year that has led to Hill dropping a great deal of weight despite the fact that his wife is one of the best cooks in the area.
