Raleigh's Governor Josh Stein has just reinforced the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC) with a couple of local stalwarts to accelerate Hurricane Helene relief efforts, as the region starts the arduous journey of rebuilding. In a recent announcement by the Governor's Office, Stein expressed his commitment "to bringing leaders to the GROW NC team who will prioritize urgency, focus, transparency, and accountability to help rebuild Western North Carolina," bringing aboard Sharon Decker, an ex-Secretary of Commerce, as a Senior Advisor and Forrest Gilliam, formerly a Madison County manager, as Legislative Director.
In the push for rapid recovery, Decker will be partnering with GROW NC, offering her expertise as a seasoned leader to fabricate a solid economic bounce-back, leveraging her company, Tapestry Collaborative, she'll be drafting a recovery framework and plan which, as Decker told the press, will rest on several pillars including enhanced healthcare, accessible education, and robust community engagement, while also ensuring "we will come back, and better than before" her vision expands upon a collective aspiration to rebuild the region better despite the ruin Hurricane Helene wrought, according to the Governor's Office.
Gilliam, on the other hand, injects nearly two decades of governmental experience into the fold, where he's set to handle legislative matters for GROW NC. His background ranges from toiling on Capitol Hill to steering local government projects in Madison County, including recent initiatives addressing the hurricane's aftermath, according to the press release by the Governor's Office. Furthermore, GROW NC Director Matt Calabria, betrays his enthusiasm for the added muscle, stating, "I am excited to continue building our team with these highly qualified professionals who have deep roots in Western North Carolina."
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