Secretary of State tours Clinton

Tuesday morning, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall went on a walking tour of local businesses in downtown Clinton, stopping to talk to business owners, tour their shops and listen to them discuss the economy and how it impacts their enterprise.

Her stop was part of her ongoing mission and passion for supporting rural and local business and in conjunction with Rural RISE NC, a program for both new and existing business owners.

Its purpose is to help get those start-ups off the ground and to help established ones reach the next level, a process they achieve by helping connect these businesses to the many resources available to assist them,. The process connects business owners with mentors and business counselors, finding resources and more.

Meeting that goal is part of what brought Marshall to Sampson County, specifically Clinton, where she visited with three downtown business owners. Her tour took her to see Joyce Owen of Matthews Gifts, Grace Ho Yang of Ho Yang Fine Art and Audrea Matthis of Burney’s Sweets and More.

The tour lasted just over an hour, and Marshall spent time talking with each about the history of their locations, their backgrounds, lives as entrepreneurs and other similar subjects. Stopping to eat lunch at Burney’s concluding the tour, Marshall spared a moment to share her thoughts on how it felt to visit. Her first impression — extraordinary.

“It’s very extraordinary, very eye opening and very inspirational,” she said. “I’m committed to rural economic development and when I see people striking out on their own, whether they’re a franchise, or whether they’re just starting out on their own, with an idea that they have a talent … that’s very helpful.”

“I also believe in supporting local merchants here and I hope all the people here in Sampson County will continue to support their Main Street and off Main Street merchants” she added. “When you’re spending your money at home, it’s helpful for everybody.”

Speaking of Main Street, Marshall also noted that its condition was the biggest surprise out of the whole tour.

“I think the condition of the Main Street here was the biggest surprise,” she attested. “I used to come here as a lawyer, and it was a whole other version of downtown before now. There were so many nice and bright shops and friendly people, which I always expected from Sampson County, but the Main Street, the downtown looks very, very good.”

Marshall also offered more insight into what exactly Rural RISE NC is about and why it’s so important to rural areas like this one.

“Well, my goal in project Rural RISE is to try to give entrepreneurs a better chance to be successful,” she began. “We have a rural urban gap, we have a knowledge gap and we don’t need business failures anywhere.

“I’m trying to stimulate conversations about what local governments can do to just provide little incentives,” Marshall continued. We want to inspire people to jump in and to also let people know that they can get good help from the community college Small Business Center and it’s free, free, free and it’s confidential. I’ve met a lot of these business counselors who have been in business themselves successfully and so they’re talking from personal knowledge and personal experience.

“Again, I can’t say enough, that it’s free and it’s right here in your neighborhood and your community college,” she stressed, “so if you’re thinking about starting a business, you need to check in on that; it’s all the stuff that you should know and think about before you start.”

Marshall’s background dates back to 1996, in her bio on their website www.sosnc.gov, which states she became the first woman ever elected to a statewide, Executive Branch office in North Carolina.

Marshall was a member of the state Senate before rising to statewide office. She holds a B.S. in Home Economics from the University of Maryland and a law degree from Campbell University. She has received Honorary Doctorate degrees from Campbell University, Lees-McRae College, Meredith College and the Republic of Moldova Testemitanu State University of Medicine.

Her work experiences include teaching Home Economics in the public school and community college systems, co-ownership of a book and gift store, establishing an interior decorating business and the private practice of law.

Active in many civic groups in the areas of child welfare, women’s issues, and agriculture and small town economic development, since becoming Secretary of State, she has received numerous state and national awards for leadership in technology, government innovation, and women’s leadership.

For more information on Marshall or for help towards a business from the Rural RISE NC initiative visit www.sosnc.gov