In recent years North Carolina has emerged as a national leader in regional economic development programs, with regional organizations in place to support development for every county.

New to this effort is the Cornerstone CDC (Community Development Corporation) located in Duplin County, North Carolina. Founded in 2009, we bring new hope, and new vision, and are motivated by a deep creative urge and an inner passion to make a difference in the lives of those who live,work,and are striving for a better future. Over the past three-years, we have been working with the town of Warsaw to revitialize the downtown distrrict and to create jobs. Once the center of commerce for Duplin County, Warsaw, like much of the country is going through a process of redefining its industries and business district.

In 2010, the Town of Warsaw was awarded a grant to participant in the North Carolina Small Towns Economic Prosperity Program (NCSTEP) sponsored and funded by the NC Rural Economic Development Center. NCSTEP is designed to assist participating towns in three ways:

Developing a Leadership Team of local citizens and officials, empowered by the community and committed to providing long-term leadership in economic development planning and implementation of projects resulting from the planning effort;
Asisting the Leadership Team with producing a comprehensive strategic economic development plan, including an implementation plan for specific projects to advance the identified strategies; and
Providing some funding to assist with project implementation. Although the Rural Center provides a coach to guide the process, developing and guiding the implementation of the strategic plan is entirely the responsibility of the Leadership Team. The process of developing the plan is designed to develop the capacity for the Leadership Team to carry out its responsibilities.

The Cornerstone CDC, has been there, since the beginning, providing valuable input and insight into the process and the expected reults. The Plan is a living document and is continually being updated. Implementing the plan will require everyone to become engaged in creating the future. To learn more

Become, engaged, there is room on the journey.