Thank you to everyone who joined us last month for Rural Day, the second-annual statewide advocacy event in support of rural North Carolina.
We welcomed more than 450 people--representing 80 counties--from all across the state for a day of celebration, education, and engagement with our elected leaders.
Below you will find a detailed overview of all that happened over the course of the day. We have included video highlights from some of our speakers, along with photos and social media highlights from the entire event. We hope you will take a moment to relive your experiences, or catch a glimpse of the inspiring and challenging conversations that took place at this year's Rural Day.
What's next? We focused on the three major priorities--broadband, health, and small business development--that rose to the top of the discussions throughout our year-long Rural Road Trip, a journey that put us in conversation with 1,600 local leaders from all 80 of our state's rural counties. Be on the lookout early this fall for a complete summary of our experiences on the road, including a full list of advocacy priorities you lifted up to us during our travels across this great state, from the mountains to the coast.
We will be back on the road this fall, hosting regional policy roundtables to get into the details of what should be done for each of these priority areas. We hope you will join us to be a part of the solution!
And, once the details of the policy solutions are identified, we hope you will join us next year for Rural Day 2019. We will be convening again in Raleigh on
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
, this time in a larger event space to accommodate the hundreds of advocates ready to speak up for our rural communities.
We are honored that so many of you traveled from great distances to be a part of Rural Day 2018, and we look forward to working with you to show our leaders that #RuralCounts and that we are able to work together, regardless of our differences, to do what's right for rural North Carolina.
Now, take a moment to revisit the highlights from Rural Day 2018. Click on the images below to watch videos from our speakers and panelists. Be sure to visit the Rural Center's
YouTube
page to see even more videos from the big day.
Thank you for all you do for rural North Carolina.
I cannot wait to see you again in Raleigh on
March 26
for Rural Day 2019!
