Thomas “Tommy” Hester, Jr., whose many accolades include local business owner and chairman of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, was on Thursday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program to discuss the current economic growth and the future potential of the local area.

With phase III of the process, the County is expanding the existing Henderson-Vance Industrial Park located at the intersection of Bear Pond Road and US-1 Bypass in Henderson. “It’s been 32 years since we’ve looked at investing in our community as far as an industrial park,” said Hester. “We are now in the process of closing on 85 acres of land.”

The park, which has already secured a $2.45 million grant from the Rural ReadySites program for infrastructure purposes, will be zoned for light industrial and general commercial use.

“It’s a prime location and it has everything that you need available – natural gas, water, sewer and internet access,” Hester said.

With the prospect of multi-billion dollar companies such as Amazon and Apple establishing headquarters just a short drive down the road in Raleigh, Hester believes the local area needs to be ready for growth. “You’ve got to be ready. If you aren’t ready, you won’t be able to get people here.”

Hester also sees signs of a growing and prospering county in the influx of new businesses to the community, including the much-buzzed-about Planet Fitness scheduled to open in the Henderson Marketplace off Beckford Drive at the end of the year.

“I think we are readier now [for growth] than we’ve ever been,” Hester said. “We’ve put so many things into place.”

Hester referred to the County water project, currently in its third phase of completion with expansion down NC-39 as a step in the right direction. “The more infrastructure you put in, the better off you’re going to be for growth and doing what you need to for the quality of life for the people in your community. We all need to work for jobs, quality of life and education.”

According to Hester, “I think we’ve reached the bottom and we’re headed back up.”