TekTone is a manufacturer of intercom systems located in Macon County North Carolina. Needing training for their employees on a very specialized type of cold soldering required by environmental laws governing the European Union, TekTone partnered with Southwestern Community College's Business and Industry Training program to receive this much-needed training which will expand their potential market base. TekTone and SCC demonstrate a "best practice" involving public-private partnerships in WNC.

In the 1990's, the old school at Stecoah in Graham County stood abandoned and unused. Find out how concerned citizens built a coalition, found grant monies and turned the school into a vibrant community center. This is the story of the Stecoah Valley Center.

Political boundaries often serve as roadblocks that keep economic entities from cooperating or collaborating. Regional economic development is premised on the notion that regions are defined through shared economic goals - not through arbitrary lines on a map. This case study - based on the successful merging of the Polk County (NC) and Landrum (SC) Chambers of Commerce - demonstrates how political boundaries can be overcome and how economic collaboration can take place across state lines.

In this Best Practice, we profile a fresh food initiative in Rutherford County that allows local residents to earn extra income by growing crops for Charlotte-area gourmet restaurants. The restaurants get fresh food; residents of Rutherford County get additional revenues and - for a moment - the tides of globalization seem to have reversed.

As you might expect, the real value in this Best Practice comes not from what was done but from how the residents managed to work together to plan and then execute this endeavor.