Sampson’s first-ever Demographic Forecast Forum draws 200

Sampson County hosted its first-ever Demographic Forecast Forum on March 11. The event offered attendees valuable networking opportunities and provided information on business growth, as well as strategies for translating that growth back into their community. Approximately 200 guests were in attendance. A significant portion — around 40 percent were business owners, CEOs, and government officials. About 80 percent of attendees identified as white, with a lower representation of minorities. Nearly half of the participants had at least a bachelor’s degree, which highlights the diverse backgrounds of those who participated in the forum.

Community leaders, business owners, and others recognized the changes in the economy and decided it was time to have an important conversation — one that would address concerns locals have concerning difficult issues such as racial inequality in the workplace and the ever-changing demographics of the county. Bill Scott, a member of the county economic advisory board, emphasized that the goal was to host a forum to “bring the community to share information about the changing demographics of Sampson County.”

A poll conducted during the forum concluded that there were three main concerns that organization representatives were having regarding demographics: access to a skilled workforce, employee retention, and navigating local, state, and federal regulations. The poll then led to active discussions about these concerns.

There were several speakers in attendance, but the main facilitators of the forum were Dr. James Johnson, who discussed the issues in the county, and Professor Jeanne Bonds, who provided some possible solutions to the problems. Both speakers discussed the top three concerns that were found in the poll.

“We’re in a war, a war for talent amid a demographic transformation,” Johnson said. “The county is experiencing a disruptive demographic change. We are seeing a population decline while the poverty rate and demand for job opportunities are steadily rising.”

There is a need to improve the economy of Sampson County, Johnson said, adding that he hopes that guests “learned how to build on their networks and connections to reinvent the community and make it more attractive to economic and social development.”

Bonds acknowledged that there is a need for socioeconomic change in Sampson County. She discussed community economic development and the different tools that could be utilized to improve the community. “There are hundreds of tools that they may not know about that they can use that aren’t just industrial development,” she said.

When asked about some examples of resources that can be utilized in the community, she responded with “New market tax credits, the new community reinvestment acts, and more.”

These can all be utilized to help improve the community economically, she added.

Ray Jordan provided the closing remarks, giving a summary about the importance of the close-knit community doing everything in its power to strategically plan and improve the future of Sampson County.

“The summit went really well,” Jordan said, “and our speakers did well discussing the problems that Sampson County is facing.”

Missed the event? Don’t fret; there are talks about another summit being planned for sometime in April. Details on that event will be announced as they become available.