EDC has a new leader: Van Geons will start Jan. 8

Salisbury Post
Robert M. Van Geons has been chosen as the new executive
director of the Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development
Commission.
The EDC's board of directors voted 8-0 Friday afternoon to hire
the 32-y
By Mark Wineka
Salisbury Post
Robert M. Van Geons has been chosen as the new executive director of the
Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission.
The EDC's board of directors voted 8-0 Friday afternoon to hire the 32-yearold
Van Geons, currently the executive director of the Stanly County
Economic Development Commission.
He will take the job Jan. 8.
Bruce Jones, chairman of the EDC and president of Community Bank of
Rowan, said the EDC board especially liked Van Geons' passion for economic
development, besides his success in recruiting jobs for Stanly County.
Jones noted Van Geons' ties to Rowan County through schooling -- he is a
1997 graduate of Catawba College -- and his early jobs as a planner for
Benchmark in towns that included Spencer and Kannapolis. He and his wife,
Tara, also participated in several Piedmont Players productions.
Jones said he thought Van Geons will have more tools to work with in Rowan
County and that he was excited to get him started.
"We found the best person for the job in our own backyard," Jones said.
The EDC board had narrowed the expansive search to four candidates, all of
whom were brought in for tours and interviews. The decision then came down

He didn't disclose the other finalist's name at that person's request.
Van Geons will have an annual salary of $90,000. His predecessor, Randy
Harrell, who left for a economic development position in Greene County,
Tenn., had annual pay of $103,000.
The contract with Van Geons runs for three years.
Jones said everything else in the contract approved Friday was standard and
similar to what Harrell had received in terms of insurance benefits, vacation,
sick leave, retirement, dues, civic clubs, the Country Club of Salisbury and
vehicle expenses.
Van Geons will receive three weeks of vacation. The EDC pays his house
membership to the country club and monthly dues. The EDC also provides for
a vehicle and the expenses related to insurance, gas, licenses and
maintenance.
Van Geons' relocation expenses will be paid, and he also will be provided a
laptop computer, Blackberry and wireless card.
The Salisbury-Rowan EDC is funded through annual appropriations from
Rowan County, the city of Salisbury and the towns of China Grove, Cleveland,
Faith, Granite Quarry, Rockwell, Spencer and East Spencer. It works to attract
new industries and helps in the expansion of existing companies in Rowan.
Van Geons' staff at the Salisbury-Rowan EDC will include Project Manager
Stuart Hair and Office Manager Bettina Dickert.
Van Geons said taking the new position in Rowan County will feel like coming
home in a way because of his school experience at Catawba College and his
early work with Benchmark, a planning firm.
A native of Waterbury, Conn., Van Geons and his wife had moved back to
Connecticut for a while, and he worked in Waterbury, Ledyard and
Southington before returning to North Carolina and Stanly County, where he
has been since 2004.
In Stanly County, according to an EDC press release, Van Geons helped to
create and preserve roughly 700 jobs with $100 million in new taxable
investments, not including $3.5 million in grants and federal appropriations.
Van Geons also manages Building Inspections and Planning and Zoning for
the Stanly County manager.
During his tenure, Van Geons has had to work through the shutdown of
Alcoa's Badin Works smelter and Stanly County's challenge to Alcoa Power
Generating Inc.'s relicensing process with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Agency.
Van Geons said he sees Rowan County as having greater potential for
economic development than any other county in North Carolina, thanks to its
location, highways, rail connections and opportunities at the airport.
Rowan County is well situated to take advantage of NASCAR's growth and
other racing related ventures, as well as its proximity to the North Carolina
Research Campus in Kannapolis, Van Geons added.
Van Geons graduated from Catawba with a political science degree with an
emphasis in American government.
He holds a master's degree in economic development from the University of
Southern Mississippi, where he also is working toward his doctorate of
philosophy in international development.
He earned his certification in city-county management from the University of
North Carolina School of Government in April. He also is certified by the
International Economic Development Council.
Van Geons is vice chairman of the Economic Advisory Council of the
Charlotte Regional Partnership, to which Rowan County also belongs. He also
is a member of the advisory board for the Ketner School of Business at
Catawba College.
His wife, Tara, is an English and drama teacher at South Stanly High School
and was Teacher of the Year in 2007. She is a graduate of Pfeiffer University
and earned her master's degree from the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte.
Van Geons said they have an offer pending on a house in Rowan County and
plan to move here after selling their Stanly County home. His wife will finish
her school year at South Stanly High.
Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com.